We have to increase pressure to prevent Russians, Belarusians from participating in Olympics - Ukrainian Olympic Committee President Gutzeit

He announced this during a national telethon.

“We all need to put pressure on the International Olympic Committee to prevent the Russians and Belarusians from being allowed to compete under a neutral flag or any flag under which they are trying to return to international sport,” Gutzeit said.

In particular, he recalled that a year ago, the IOC condemned Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine and recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus not be allowed to participate in international competitions.

Instead, on January 25 this year, the IOC made a statement about considering the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the competition. In particular, last week, at an extraordinary conference of the Fencing Federation, they voted to allow Russian and Belarusian fencers to return to competition, as the competition for a license to the Olympic Games begins in 2023. He also said that African and Arab countries expressed support, while European countries voted against.

“We see that in the international federations, where there is Russian money, Russian support, where there are presidents from Russia, people who have been working for many years in the federations, they are trying to hold this vote for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” Gutzeit said.

In addition, he added that the postponement of the IOC Executive Committee from February to March 2023 was due to the fact that many countries protested the attempts to return athletes from Russia and Belarus to international competitions during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Regarding Ukraine's boycott of the Olympic Games if athletes from Russia and Belarus return to international competitions, Gutzeit said that this is a last resort.

“This decision will be made only in a collegial manner, only with federations and well-known athletes.... It's a complicated issue, but eventually we will have to make a decision whether to participate or not,” he said.

• On January 27, IOC chief Thomas Bach said he supports the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics, despite Ukraine's threats to boycott the Games.

• On January 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had written a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron over the possible admission of Russia to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

• On January 30, Advisor to the Head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak said that the IOC, which supports the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympics, is a promoter of Russia's war against Ukraine. 

• Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that if Russians are allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics, representatives of the Russian army will be able to compete at the Games in Paris.

• Wladimir Klitschko said that the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games is a "betrayal of the Olympic spirit" and a "monumental mistake"

• Former coach of the Ukrainian national football team Andriy Shevchenko has appealed to the IOC and called for the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competitions

• The IOC responded to the criticism from the Ukrainian authorities and the sports community by calling it 'slander'. 

• On February 1, the International Olympic Committee announced that it would maintain the sanctions against Russian and Belarusian athletes that were approved in December 2022.

• On February 6, the Verkhovna Rada called on the IOC to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Games in Paris.

• On February 7, it became known that Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych accused the country's sports leadership of not responding properly to the IOC's decision to allow Russians to participate in the 2024 Olympics.