Nazar Chepurnyi picked up the European gold medal in the men’s vault at the 2026 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, with a score of 14.566. However, the Ukrainian’s journey up the podium was not straightforward. The gymnast was left covering his own preparation expenses after failing to receive financial support from his country, before the German Gymnastics Federation stepped in to help.

About a month and a half before the European Championships, Chepurnyi decided to leave Ukraine and prepare in Germany. He said he made the decision because he did not believe he had the right conditions for his preparation. The gymnast repeatedly contacted the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation to request financial support for his training camp.

Instead, he said, he kept hearing the same response. “Tomorrow.” With the promised assistance failing to arrive, Chepurnyi said he eventually accepted that he would have to cover the first part of his preparation himself. As he said, “Eventually, I came to terms with the fact that the first half of the preparation will have to be paid completely by myself: housing, food, fuel and all other expenses.” But after all this drama, the German federation stepped in.

The 2024 Paris Olympian said he asked Ukrainian sports authorities to pay for an official training camp in Kienbaum, Germany. According to the gymnast, he was told that help would be provided. But that support never came from the Ukrainian Ministry. Instead, the German Gymnastics Federation learned about his situation and voluntarily helped cover the cost of the camp. The amount involved was €900, roughly $1,049.

And now this dispute has drawn a response from Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation vice president Stella Zakharova. When Tribuna.com asked her how the federation could fail to support its own athlete, Zakharova did not directly address Chepurnyi’s allegations. Instead, she replied: “All questions should be directed to the President of the Federation.” 

But now, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has responded directly to Chepurnyi’s Instagram post. The Ministry praised his European gold medal as an important success for Ukraine, but rejected his explanation for leaving the country. It specifically disputed Chepurnyi’s claim that he left because Ukraine did not have suitable preparation conditions.

“Nazar Chepurnyi stated in his post that he left because Ukraine lacks the proper conditions for competition preparation. However, this is untrue,” the Ministry said. According to the Ministry, the entire Ukrainian national artistic gymnastics team trains at a specialized Olympic training facility in the Kyiv region, where it says the necessary conditions for preparation have been created.

The Ministry also said state funding for national-team training camps abroad is restricted by Ukrainian government rules. It said overseas camps can only receive state funding in specific situations. These include cases where Ukraine does not have a suitable training base for the sport, lacks the necessary weather conditions, needs a final training camp at an internationally compliant facility, or requires an individual training plan involving leading foreign athletes.

The Ministry also pointed out that Chepurnyi is a full-time athlete on the Ukrainian national team and receives a salary under his contract. It added that he receives an additional stipend because he won a bronze medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. That means the dispute is not simply about whether Chepurnyi receives any support from Ukraine. The disagreement centers specifically on whether the Kienbaum training camp in Germany qualified for state funding.

The Ministry says it did not. Chepurnyi, meanwhile, says he repeatedly sought assistance and was ultimately left to cover his preparation expenses until the German federation helped him. However, this does not mean Ukraine does not support its athletes.

Ukraine’s support for its National-team athletes

Ukraine provides financial support to national-team athletes through salaries, training programs, scholarships and rewards for international achievements. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports, the state fully funds national-team training within Ukraine, while full-time national-team athletes receive salaries under their contracts. Athletes who achieve major international results can also receive state scholarships.

Ukraine has also allocated substantial public funding to high-performance sport. The 2026 state budget includes UAH 5.012 billion for high-performance sports, as part of UAH 6.838 billion allocated overall for sports and youth policy. The government also provides financial rewards to athletes and coaches for strong international results. For instance, in 2026, the Ukrainian athletes who took sixth place in the Winter Olympics were granted 150,000 UAH in rewards.

So, Ukraine does provide support to its athletes, but Chepurnyi argues that the support he needed for his overseas preparation was not provided, while the Ministry says his particular training camp was not eligible for state funding.