Angelina Melnikova and eight other members of the Russian national team were denied entry to Croatia for the European Championship. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says each application is processed individually, in line with EU sanctions.
The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia responded on Monday, August 10, 2026, to an inquiry from the Dnevno.hr portal regarding unapproved visas for Russian athletes who were to compete at the European Gymnastics Championship in Zagreb. A visa was not issued to Angelina Melnikova, a three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist from 2021, nor to eight other members of the Russian national team.
The European Championship in men's and women's artistic gymnastics is being held at Zagreb Arena since last Thursday and will run until August 23, 2026. More than 600 gymnasts are participating in the competition.
In its response, the Ministry emphasized that European regulations do not provide for automatic visa approval for any category of persons, including athletes. "The European Union regulation governing the processing of Schengen visa applications, i.e., the Union Visa Code, does not recognize the granting of advance blank guarantees that a visa will be issued to any category of persons, including athletes," the statement reads.
Each application is processed individually, and in addition to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MVEP), other visa authorities are involved in the process: the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) and the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA).
The Ministry clarified that all applications from citizens of the Russian Federation are processed in accordance with the European Commission Guidelines for issuing visas to Russian applicants. This is a direct consequence of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and EU Council Decision 2022/1500 of September 9, 2022, which fully suspended the application of the Visa Facilitation Agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation.
"Based on the above, a detailed check of each submitted application is conducted, and the decision is made after consultations with the competent Croatian visa authorities and Schengen member states that require prior consultation in the case of issuing visas to Russian citizens," the response states.
Although the championship has already started, the Ministry says that the visa procedures for the mentioned athletes have not yet been concluded. "The visa procedures for the mentioned athletes are still ongoing," the response states.
The Ministry further emphasized Croatia's obligation to respect international restrictive measures and implement all European Union sanctions against the Russian Federation currently in force.
