Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged the international community to defend the Olympic Charter and join his campaign to ban Russian athletes from the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Amid continued Russian aggression and devastating war crimes, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is ‘exploring ways’ to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Paris Olympics. To our marathon of integrity, fight these efforts and defend the Olympic Charter. “, he wrote on Twitter.
On January 27, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the start of the so-called honesty marathon, with the aim of “cleansing up the hypocrisy of the leaders of international Olympic structures and any attempts to incorporate representatives of a terrorist state into world sport.”
The President accompanies his “tweet” with a video, in which he recalls that at the last Olympics in Tokyo, held in 2021, 45 of the 71 medals won by Russia were won by athletes associated with sports clubs in the Russian army.
“And Ukrainians can now face many of them in Paris. And for sure, there will be Russian flags or pro-war Z-symbols in the stands, ”Vladimir Zelensky adds in the video.
While Olympic officials insist that “sport is apolitical”, Ukraine argues that “allowing Russian athletes to compete would violate the founding principles of the Olympic Charter”.
The Olympic Charter, a regulation adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), establishes a set of fundamental principles, rules, statutes and guidelines for the organization of the Olympic Games.
The President also wonders if this situation is due to “the true neutrality of sport or capitulation to the brutal Russian power”, and recalls that 343 sports facilities were destroyed and 231 Ukrainian athletes and coaches died as a result of the attacks.