Ukraine considers those Russian athletes who have not even changed their sports citizenship as agents of Russian hybrid influence. This statement was made by the head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Matviy Bidnyi , in an interview with Wirtualna Polska, UNN reports .
Those Russian athletes who are truly against the war have severed ties with the terrorist country, loudly expressed their position, and are competing under the flags of other states. At the same time, we consider those athletes who have not changed their sporting citizenship to be agents of Russian hybrid influence
According to him, every person is identified by his or her passport, which is a kind of contract between a person and the state that defines mutual rights and mutual obligations. The Russian regime uses athletes to glorify Russian aggression and show that you can commit any crime and get away with it.
Poor added that the war has already claimed the lives of 455 Ukrainian athletes and coaches.
Less than a month ago, on March 21, a Russian missile strike on Mykolaiv killed Olena Syvanych, the mother of Svitlana Malkova, the leading trampoline athlete of the Ukrainian national team. The day after the news of her mother's murder, Svitlana did not win her Olympic license. Instead, a so-called "neutral" athlete with a Russian passport won the license
Bidnyi also commented on the work of the IOC commission that checks the "neutrality" of athletes from Russia and Belarus before the Olympic Games in Paris. In particular, he noted that the agency, together with the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, is submitting data to the International Olympic Committee on the support of the war by some athletes from these countries.
The IOC is facing a huge challenge. It must scrutinize all public statements and actions of each of the Russian and Belarusian Olympians. A special commission has been set up for this purpose
Recall
Ukrainian athletes have won 67 licenses for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in various sports, including boxing, wrestling, cycling, rowing, gymnastics, athletics, swimming, shooting, modern pentathlon, fencing, and football.