Tanya Polyakovskaya 23:05, 01/29/23 UNIAN
The President of Ukraine stressed that the Olympic Movement and terrorist states “should definitely not intersect.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed French President Emmanuel Macron on the need to make sure Russia cannot use the Paris Olympics to promote aggression.
In an evening video message, Zelensky recalled that today, January 29, the Russian invaders shelled Kherson several times, as a result of which there were dead and wounded.
“In such conditions, against the backdrop of such constant Russian terrorist attacks on our cities, on our villages, against the backdrop of constant Russian assaults that are trying not only to leave a single whole wall, it is even shocking that you have to convince international sports bureaucrats to refuse any support from the state terrorist,” he said.
The President emphasized that the attempts of the International Olympic Committee to return Russian athletes to competitions and the Olympic Games are “an attempt to tell the whole world that terror can be something acceptable, that it is possible to turn a blind eye to what Russia is doing with Kherson, with Kharkov, with Bakhmut , with Avdiivka”.
“Today I sent a letter to Mr. President Macron – precisely on this occasion and in continuation of our conversation with him, which took place on January 24. Preparing 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 their state chauvinism,” Zelensky stressed.
He added that in the first half of the 20th century, “too many mistakes were made in Europe, which led to very terrible tragedies.”
“There was also a weighty Olympic mistake. The Olympic movement and terrorist states definitely should not intersect,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
Admission of the Russian Federation to the Olympics in Paris – what you need to know
On January 24, Zelensky and Macron discussed strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities and diplomatic steps to end the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine. Separately, in a conversation, Zelensky stressed that athletes from Russia have no place at the Olympic Games in Paris.
On January 26, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it would consider the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competitions under a neutral flag.
On January 28, Zelensky announced that he had approached the leading international sports federations about the IOC’s decision.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba emotionally stated that the International Olympic Committee is ready to trample on the graves of thousands of murdered Ukrainians in order to return the Russians to the competition. In turn, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov urged not to allow Russian athletes to participate in the Olympics under any flag, because they are “stained with the blood of Ukrainians.”
In addition, Sports Minister Vadim Gutzeit warned that Ukraine would boycott the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris if Russians and Belarusians were allowed to compete.
Nazis have a history of using the Olympics for propaganda and destroy rules based societies. Now Hitler 2.0 may have another opportunity to use the Olympics to further his fascism just like 2014 when he invaded Ukraine the first time and again after the China Olympics to invade Ukraine the 2nd time. Leave it to Macron to ignore war crimes for a few rubles.