Putin orders aggressive response to Swedish hockey protests

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarov announced aggressive diplomatic and legal actions ordered by President Vladimir Putin in response to Sweden's and Finland's protests against Russia's reinstatement in international ice hockey tournaments. Degtyarov dismissed Swedish claims that players would suffer psychological setbacks from facing Russians as "insane," and confirmed the Russian hockey federation has filed an immediate appeal with the IIHF disciplinary committee. He stated Russia's federation is "not a punching bag." Russia has been suspended from international ice hockey since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin previously criticized leading hockey nations' reactions, describing boycotts of World Championship matches against Russia as a grave violation, though he has not recently commented on the matter.