President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted to the decision of the US Olympic Committee to support the idea of admitting athletes from countries that practice terrorism — Russia and Belarus — to the 2024 Olympics under a neutral flag.
“I am disappointed with the intention to return athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus to international competitions. While the Russian Federation is destroying peaceful life, there is only complete isolation.
In connection with this, I spoke with the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach. In particular, the fact that the principles of the Olympic movement definitely do not provide for the connivance of terrorist states.
Any ideas on how to bring Russian representatives back to international competitions are ideas on how to let the perpetrators of terror tell their society that the world supposedly forgives terror.
This is a sports indulgence. This is how it will appear to be Russian propaganda if the International Olympic Committee slips its feet and allows those who represent war and nothing else to participate in sporting events on an equal footing with others.
When we receive such messages as today from Kherson, where an eight-year-old child, a boy, was killed by regular Russian shelling, then we can only say one thing: a white or any neutral flag is impossible for Russian athletes, all their flags are stained with blood.
I also told Bach that since February, 184 Ukrainian athletes have died from Russian actions. And this country itself uses sports for propaganda purposes. A fair answer for a terrorist country can only be complete isolation in the international arena," Zelensky said in his next video message.