NAVI CEO: "We hope that we are going to keep [the CS:GO] roster and that the Russia-based players are going to relocate"

Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Natus Vincere CEO Yevhen Zolotarov commented on the future of the Russian players on his CS:GO roster.

Zolotarov spoke to the Washington Post in an interview conducted amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, discussing the effects of the war on his organization and the stance NAVI is taking in response while it navigates an unpredictable and ever-changing situation in its home country.

The CEO shared that there is a possibility that the Ukrainian organization will part ways with some of the Russia-based players on its payroll, as it looks to cut ties with anyone who lives and pays taxes in the Russian Federation.

"We are not going to work with people who live in Russia and who pay taxes to the Russian Federation," he said.

This is a big concern mainly for Natus Vincere's CS:GO division, which currently has three Russian players part of the roster in Denis "⁠electroNic⁠" Sharipov, Kirill "⁠Boombl4⁠" Mikhailov, and Ilya "⁠Perfecto⁠" Zalutskiy.

However, Zolotarov shared his belief that the Kyiv-based organization's major rosters will remain the same and stressed that the organization is ready to help relocate players "who don't share the Russian Federation's politics."

When specifically asked about the future of the CS:GO team, the NAVI chief once again repeated those hopes: "We hope that we are going to keep this roster and that the Russia-based players are going to relocate."

The interview comes before Natus Vincere are slated to start their campaign in ESL Pro League Season 15's Group D on Wednesday, which will mark their first appearance since they went out of IEM Katowice in the semi-finals just days after the invasion began.