A letter has been issued by the UFF to the heads of National Federations urging them to ensure fencers from Russia and Belarus remain banned "until the end of this criminal war and complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine".

The call comes on the eve of the FIE Extraordinary Congress where members are expected to vote on whether they are in favour of athletes and officials from the two countries being reintroduced to international competition on Friday (March 10).

A vote on their participation was originally scheduled to be held at the FIE Congress in Swiss city Lausanne last November only to be postponed until March when it is due to be held online.

Athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus have been barred from international competition since last March when the FIE adhered to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) recommendations to impose the ban due to the war in Ukraine.

UFF first vice president Serhiy Mishchenko said the situation in Ukraine has since "worsened" with Russia destroying sporting facilities and killing Ukrainians including athletes and coaches.

"We will have to decide whether we stand up for the Olympic ideals and for peace," Mishchenko wrote in the letter.

"Is it fair that through destruction, constant shelling Ukrainian athletes have no opportunity to prepare for competitions and risk their lives, and Russian athletes will calmly compete in the international arena?

"Criminal aggression is actively supported by Russian and Belarusian athletes.

"Fencer [and] President of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov frankly supports aggression, saying that fighting against Ukraine is an honour for Russian athletes."

Vadym Guttsait is UFF President as well as head of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the country's Sports Minister.

Guttsait was on the same Unified Team which won Olympic team sabre gold at Barcelona 1992 as Pozdnyakov.

He recently described former Unified Team fencing team-mate Pozdnyakov as his "enemy".

The IOC is exploring a pathway for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals with the Olympic Council of Asia offering them the chance to participate in its events to qualify for Paris 2024.

But Mishchenko said he was opposed to neutrality and urged the FIE to follow the International Gymnastics Federation which last week decided to extend the ban on Russian and Belarusian officials until further notice.

"The Ukrainian Fencing Federation appeals to you not to allow the permission of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competition in any status, including neutral, until the end of this criminal war and complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, as some other sports have already done, in particular the International Gymnastics Federation," added Mishchenko.

"Isolation of aggressor countries, including in the international sports arena, is important.

"The tool is aimed at restoring peace, demonstrating that the world sports community stand in defence of Olympic ideals, fair play without aggression, violence and hatred of other people."

Russian and Belarusian fencers will be hoping that the FIE lifts the restrictions to ensure that they can vie for qualification places at next year’s Olympics in Paris.

Under FIE rules, Paris 2024 quota spots for individual and team competitions will based on ranking points earned between April 3 in 2023 and April 1 in 2024.

Finnish Fencing and Pentathlon Federation President Joonas Lyytinen said last month that Nordic fencing federations remained in opposition to the potential return of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

"Russians and Belarusians should not be allowed to participate as long as the war in Ukraine continues and the idea of strict neutrality is not a feasible concept since even during the neutrality based on Russia’s state sponsored doping programme they did not adhere to it repeatedly," said Lyytinen.

Emmanuel Katsiadakis has been the interim President of the FIE since Uzbek-born Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov agreed to step aside following the European Union's decision to impose economic sanctions on him over Russia's military assault on Ukraine.

Usmanov has also been sanctioned by the United States and the United Kingdom.