"Sports and culture must not become vehicles for whitewashing Russian aggression," the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Oct. 13. But since then, Russia has advanced its sports agenda in at least two instances.

"The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions," said Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

A ship called the Agioi Fanendes, which had just left Russia's Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, was carrying 40,000 metric tons to New York and had been traveling westwards through the Baltic Sea ever since.