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The 20-year-old, who won bronze in the parallel bars at the
Apparatus World Cup in Doha, displayed the letter as he stood on
the podium next to Ukrainian gold medallist Illia Kovtun.
Russian forces have used the letter "Z" as an identifying symbol
on their vehicles in Ukraine following the invasion, which
Moscow calls a "special military operation". Some supporters of
the invasion have also used the sign.
"Mr Kuliak breached the FIG Statutes, the FIG Code of
Discipline, the FIG Code of Ethics, the FIG Code of Conduct and
the FIG Technical Regulations when he wore the letter 'Z' on his
singlet," the governing body said in a statement on Tuesday.
"(He) is not allowed to participate in any FIG-sanctioned event
or competition organised by an affiliated FIG member federation
for one year as of the date of this decision."
Kuliak has said he had no regrets about the display and that he
would always stand for peace.
"I saw it with our military and looked at what this symbol
means. It turned out (it means), 'for victory' and 'for peace',"
he added.
"I didn't wish anything bad on anyone, I just showed my
position."
Kuliak has also been stripped of his bronze medal and will have
to return the prize money of 500 Swiss francs ($502.87). He has
21 days to appeal the decision.
The FIG had already banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from
competing in future events. Belarus has been a key staging area
for the invasion.
"If the protective measures keeping Russian athletes from
competing are still in place on 17 May 2023, the ban shall
continue and expire six months after the removal of said
measure," the FIG added.
($1 = 0.9943 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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