Ukraine is translating the same fervor it used to procure heavy tanks and other weaponry from its allies into
a campaign to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the
2024 Summer Olympics.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has made it a topic of his late-night speech several times in recent days, even calling the head of the International Olympic Committee by name.
He has written a letter to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, the host country of the Games
.
And he has raised the issue with the leader of Denmark and the president-elect of the Czech Republic.
On Tuesday, he made his last request to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, during a press conference.
(REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
"The Olympic movement and international sport in general must be protected from the usual Russian attempts to politicize sport," Zelensky said in his late-night speech on Tuesday.
"Russian politicization of sport will inevitably mean the justification of terror. This must not be allowed."
The unrelenting nature of Zelensky's message about the Olympics reflects his approach to pressuring the United States and Europe for advanced weapons
: constant public pleas that have bordered on accusations that the allies are abandoning Ukraine.
On each occasion, these countries have acceded to the requests, sometimes grudgingly.
Now Zelensky's wrath is directed at the Olympics.
The Games are intended to have nothing to do with geopolitics, even though it is often a background.
But sports organizations - including tennis, figure skating and track and field - have taken issue with his response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian and Belarusian flags were banned from the Australian Open tennis last month
after fans displayed a Russian flag in a match between a Russian and Ukrainian athlete.
The International Olympic Committee said last week it would continue to explore ways for athletes from Russia and Belarus, which has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to compete at the 2024 Games in Paris.
One option could be for athletes to compete individually and not wear the names, flags or colors of their countries, as long as they had not actively supported the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony at the Élysée Palace in Paris to celebrate the coronation of Paris as the host of the 2024 Olympic Games..(AFP Photo / POOL / Yoan Valat)
Wladimir Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion and brother of kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, publicly warned Bach that he and the IOC risked being "accomplices in this abominable war."
Russia has been banned from international sports competitions since 2019 due to a doping scandal
, although individual athletes have been allowed to compete in the Olympics.
The Russian delegation has been appealing for full participation in the Paris Games, but the IOC on Tuesday rejected calls to allow the country's athletes to compete without restrictions.
A day earlier, Mykhailo Podolyak,
one of Zelensky's top advisers, accused the Olympic Committee of offering Russia "a platform to promote genocide
. "
The IOC called his comments "defamatory" in a statement, saying they could not "serve as a basis for any constructive debate."
The head of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, said restrictions such as disqualifying athletes who had supported the war would be "unacceptable", according to TASS, a Russian state news agency.
"Russians should be able to compete under the same conditions as athletes from other countries," he
said.
"There should be no direct reference stipulating approval or disapproval of this special military operation."
The IOC responded to Pozdnyakov's comments by saying that its sanctions on Russia and Belarus are "non-negotiable".
He also reaffirmed rules that prohibit these countries from hosting IOC-affiliated sporting events, among other restrictions.
Ukraine has gained some support for its position, including from British and German officials.
c.2023 The New York Times Company
