Published by The i Paper (23rd February, 2026) Last week, a Russian ski mountaineer called Nikita Filippov won a silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy. He was competing as a supposed neutral in punishment for his nation’s systematic cheating and then its sickening invasion of Ukraine. Yet his success was hailed back home. “He’s a true hero…defending the honour of his country,” declared one pro-Kremlin newspaper. And now…