Ukraine government has hit out at the incoming IOC president for opening doors to Russian athletes at Milano Cortina 2026.
Russian athletes have been banned from participating under their flag since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which was deemed as a violation of IOC’s rules.
However, incoming IOC president Kirsty Coventry, had said in March that she opposed banning any countries from competing and would like to start a “discussion” on allowing Russia back into the Olympic Games by 2026.
Incidentally, Kyiv wants Russia banished from the Olympic Games and other international sports as Moscow’s invasion drags on.
“We will call on the international community to reject any attempts to normalize the presence of Russian and Belarusian citizens in sports as long as the war against Ukraine continues,” Yuri Muzyka, Ukraine’s deputy sports minister, told POLITICO.
“In the Russian Federation, sport is part of state policy, it has no autonomy, and athletes and officials are part of the state propaganda machine,” he added.
As per the current rules, Russian athletes are allowed to participate under the neutral banner. At Paris 2024, only 15 athletes participated with more than 300 participating in Tokyo 2020.
Earlier, Italian deputy premier Matteo Salvini welcomed Russian and Ukrainian athletes to compete at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics next year, in case the war is over.
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