SANTO DOMINGO - A group of Dutch soldiers participated in a military judo tournament in the Dominican Republic in which Russian soldiers also participated, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense confirmed to NOS. The Netherlands sent a delegation of 15 people to the tournament in Santo Domingo. 

Russian athletes are not allowed to compete under their own flag or at all at many sports tournaments due to their country’s invasion of Ukraine. But different standards apply to military sports tournaments, the Ministry pointed out. 

Military sports tournaments are organized by the Conseil International Sport du Militair (CISM), where the rule is that none of the 140 member countries may be excluded from a championship. Russia is a member country. The organizing country can decide not to invite Russia, however. 

It is unknown whether Dutch soldiers actually competed against Russians in the judo tournament. The Ministry of Defense told NOS that it advised Dutch soldiers not to seek contact with Russian soldiers “and not to respond to possible Russian overtures.” 

The Ministry stressed that Dutch soldiers wouldn’t participate in tournaments organized by Russia.