As since the start of the war in Ukraine, kyiv carefully observed – and quickly commented on – the provisions adopted on Tuesday March 19 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to establish the framework for neutrality imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes. planning to participate in the Paris Games (July 26 to August 11).
On Wednesday, Matviy Bidnyi, the Ukrainian Minister of Sports, welcomed the exclusion of Moscow athletes from the parade of delegations during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. “An expected decision,” he commented on the Tribuna website, because “in Russia, sport and athletes are used as instruments of hybrid warfare against the civilized world.”
These statements are in line with kyiv’s determined action for many months to try to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the international sports scene. Where the IOC considers that no athlete should be excluded from competitions because of their nationality, Ukraine believes that “a passport is a contract by which a person adheres to the policy of a State, which is why Russian citizens cannot be “neutral”.
kyiv is carrying out meticulous investigative work intended to control the “pedigree” of athletes likely to take part in the Paris Games. Two Russian wrestlers, in particular, are accused by Kiev of being supporters of Vladimir Putin for having participated in a pro-war rally at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow in March 2022. Ukraine maintains a list of all athletes who, according to her, pose a problem. kyiv also denounces the changes of nationality of some. On Wednesday, she noted the French naturalization of swimmer Anastasia Kirpichnikova.
