During training for the Winter Olympics, 27-year-old Heraskevych wore a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes who had been killed in the war.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued a warning to Heraskevych, citing the IOC charter, which states that political statements are not allowed at the Olympics. The next day, however, he wore the helmet again.

He was then approached by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who said no compromise had been reached, Heraskevych had been disqualified from the Olympics and he had to leave the Olympic Village.

After the IOC's decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was proud of Heraskevych. The decision to send Heraskevych home from the Olympics was also condemned by the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK), whose president, Kersti Kaljulaid, hosted a dinner in Munich on Friday.

"If you can't take a political stance in Milan, then you definitely can in Munich," Kaljulaid wrote on social media.

"That is why we invited Vladyslav Heraskevych, the skeleton racer who was disqualified from the Olympics, to a Ukrainian dinner in Munich, which I had the honor of moderating at the request of [Yalta European Strategy]."

Yalta European Strategy is an international conference of leaders from politics, business, mass media, civil society and the expert community that has been held annually since 2004.

"I still don't understand how such a modest helmet with grey and white images can be considered a political act. It's a strange interpretation of the rules. Pictures on helmets are very common, even flags... I don't know why the IOC decided this, but Ukraine's message only gained strength in Munich," Kaljulaid added.

"Honoring dead compatriots is not political, it is a basic act of humanity! The Estonian Olympic Committee unequivocally condemns the disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and calls on the IOC to explain its decision," Kaljulaid wrote on social media on Thursday after Heraskevych's ban was upheld.

"Dignity and humanity are core principles on which the Olympic Movement is built. This decision stands in clear contradiction to those very principles," she added.

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