Russia at the 2024 Olympics?: Selenskyj attacks Bach for "terror state" help

The German IOC boss Thomas Bach is campaigning for Russia to return to the big sports family at the 2024 Olympic Games - despite the war of aggression.

Russia at the 2024 Olympics?: Selenskyj attacks Bach for "terror state" help

The German IOC boss Thomas Bach is campaigning for Russia to return to the big sports family at the 2024 Olympic Games - despite the war of aggression. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj criticizes this as hypocrisy and counters with images of destruction.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headed by Thomas Bach, not to allow Russia to compete. "The Olympic principles and war are fundamentally opposed to each other," said the head of state in Kyiv. He published a series of photos on social networks of sports facilities in Ukraine that had been destroyed by the war. Some of the photos show fencers in ruins - in direct allusion to Bach's own sporting career.

Selenskyj repeatedly urges Bach not to allow the "terrorist state of Russia" to the Olympic Games. The IOC leadership recently announced that it wanted to open up opportunities for athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions under neutral flags.

"Russia must stop aggression and terror, and only then will it be possible to talk about Russia's participation in the context of the Olympic movement," said Zelenskyy. The evening before, in his daily video message, he had announced a campaign against the admission of Russian athletes to the Olympic Games. He justifies this with the loyalty of the athletes to the state and their instrumentalization by politics.

Selenskyj was disappointed after talks with Bach and accused the IOC of hypocrisy. "There can be no neutrality when such a war is going on. We know how often tyrannies try to use sport for their ideological interests," said Zelenskyy. Bach's motives are not clear to him, but Ukraine will do everything to prevent the "influence of the terrorist state" on sport.

Meanwhile, the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) is supporting the IOC's course. "We in the Olympic movement share the strong belief that athletes should not be banned from competitions because of their passports and that a way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return to competition under strict conditions should be explored," the ANOC said.

The umbrella organization of all NOCs recognized by the IOC admitted that it was a delicate matter. Therefore, the procedure and the provisions for the re-admission of athletes from Russia and Belarus would have to be examined very carefully. The ANOC put their trust in the IOC. At the same time, the umbrella organization emphasized its solidarity with Ukraine and praised the support of the international sports community for Ukrainian athletes.