IOC rejects ‘defamatory’ criticism from Ukraine on Russia’s potential participation at 2024 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee on Monday rejected harsh criticism from Ukrainian officials, accused of promoting war after the body said Russia had the potential to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak over the weekend described the Lausanne-based body as promoting “violence, mass murder, destruction” and said Russia’s presence at the Games would give the country “a platform to promote genocide.”

“The IOC rejects in the strongest possible terms these and other defamatory statements,” the IOC said in a statement. “They cannot be the basis for a constructive discussion.”

In a nightly video speech, Zelenskyy promised to “protect the structure of sports and the international Olympic movement from being discredited through the efforts of some representatives of the sports bureaucracy to allow Russian athletes in international competitions.”

Russia attacked neighboring Ukraine on February 24 last year, saying it wanted to protect security and Russian speakers. Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been driven from their homes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has previously drawn attention to the fact that many Russian Olympians have ties to the military, including by competing for sports clubs linked to the defense ministry.

“An army that commits atrocities, murders, rapes and robberies. This is what the ignorant IOC wants to put under the white flag in order to compete,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Russia has denied allegations that its forces have committed atrocities in Ukraine.

That may include Olympic qualifying events, as Russian and Belarusian athletes cannot compete in Europe due to various bans and restrictions as well as opposition caused by the Russian invasion.

However, the IOC added that each sports federation is “the sole authority for international competition.”

Russia’s foreign ministry said efforts to exclude Moscow from international sports because of what it called special military operations in Ukraine were “doomed to failure.”