Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov has dismissed criticism from Ukraine of his appointment as president of the International Fencing Federation. Usmanov, who is under European Union and United States sanctions and a travel ban following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022,

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has been elected to a new term as president of the International Fencing Federation while he faces ongoing sanctions.

Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov was elected president of the International Fencing Federation at the body's congress in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent on Saturday, the businessman's representative said.

Usmanov, 71, headed the federation until the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, when the European Union and the U.S. first sanctioned him as a person who fueled Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Olympic fencing champion Olha Kharlan has reacted to the election of Russian citizen Alisher Usmanov as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE). Source: Kharlan on Instagram Quote: "FIE Congress Presidential Election decision .

The decision was made on Nov. 30 during a congress in Tashkent. Usmanov secured a victory over Swedish candidate Otto Drakenberg, receiving 120 votes compared to Drakenberg's 26. Read also: Top 10 Russian tycoons see wealth surge amid global sanctions Usmanov's candidacy was supported by 103 countries.

The National Fencing Federation of Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian fencing community are outraged by the decision of the Congress of the International Fencing Federation to elect Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov as FIE President.