RUSSIA/UKRAINE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, who has already written to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is demanding that Russian athletes be banned from participating in the Olympics next year while their country is still chaotic.
In an official statement, Zelenskyy said, “As we prepare for the Paris Olympics, we must be sure that Russia will not be able to use it or any other international sporting event to promote aggression or its state chauvinism.”
He added, “There was a major Olympic mistake” and that “the Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not cross paths.”
The International Olympic Committee concluded that it would allow selective “neutral athletes” from Belarus and Russia to participate in the games without representing their countries through any means.
Zelenskyy contradicts this view, saying that neutrality cannot be maintained when his country’s athletes are being ruthlessly killed on the battlefield. He also confirms that Ukraine will not compete in the 2024 Olympic Games if Russia and Belarus do.
Zelenskyy compared this with the 1936 Berlin Olympics when the Nazis were in power. The UK government has also opposed the committee’s neutral athlete participation.
Following Zelenskyy’s response, Russian forces continued to bombard the Ukrainian region of Kherson after three people were killed in a gruesome attack the day before, leaving six injured.
Regional administration at Kherson revealed that the area was shelled almost 40 times and pounded countless numbers of times on Sunday.
Kherson had been the only regional capital to have been captured by the Russian forces since the invasion in February 2022.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia has also increased its attacks in the Eastern Donetsk region. He said that immediate military help from other countries is the top requirement in combating the war against Russia.
Also Read: ‘Fast Track’ Talks Are Happening between Ukraine and Its Allies about Missile Planes
