Ukraine demanded that Russian Olympians abandon the Friendship Games

Acting Minister of Sports of Ukraine Matvey Bedny made a statement on the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games and the Friendship Games. His words are quoted by Le Monde.

“[Олимпийцы из России и Белоруссии] must sign a document that they will not take part in the Friendship Games,” Bedny demanded. He added that Russian athletes should not feel welcome in Paris.

Bedny noted that Ukraine is closely monitoring the verification by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of athletes admitted to participate in the Games. “My ministry has a database of 800 names of Russian and Belarusian athletes, coaches and sports managers who support Russia. We provide all this information to the IOC,” he said.

On April 2, IOC head Thomas Bach spoke about the creation of a special commission that monitors the statements of Russian athletes in the media and the Internet. It was clarified that Ukraine is also involved in this work.

In December 2023, the IOC allowed Russians and Belarusians to participate in the Olympics in Paris as individual neutral athletes. At the same time, athletes who support a special operation in Ukraine, as well as those who have connections with the armed forces or security agencies of Russia and Belarus, will not be allowed to participate in the competition. In addition, representatives of team sports will miss the tournament.