A wave of outrage in Ukraine after the latest statement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which allows Russian athletes to compete.
“No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport,” the statement made on 25 January 2023 reads.
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the IOC is “sweeping Russian war crimes under the rug” and “trampling on the graves of thousands of innocent people”
The efforts of the IOC to sweep Russian war crimes under the rug is a testament to how far the Olympic gods have become detached from reality. The IOC is willing to trample on the graves of thousands of innocent people who have been and are being killed by Russians.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) January 28, 2023
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that “if Russian athletes appear at international competitions, it’s only a matter of time before they start justifying Russia’s aggression and using the symbols of terror. And it is also only a matter of time before the Kremlin will start using “flexibility” of the International Olympic Committee to say that the world agrees to make concessions to the aggressor.“
The president sent a letter to the presidents of the leading international sports federations. He calls to decide on the decision of the International Olympic Committee, “which, unfortunately, wants to open sports to the propaganda influence of a terrorist state.”
As was reported, sport is among the central topics of Russian state propaganda and Russian athletes are regularly meeting with Putin and appearing next to him during public events.
