Ukraine's Foreign Minister calls on IOC to stop using white flags to conceal Russian war crimes

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has commented on the possibility that Russian athletes might be allowed to resume competing in the Olympics by calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to "stop trying to conceal Russian crimes with white flags."

Source: Dmytro Kuleba on Twitter

Quote from Kuleba: "Since last year, 231 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by the Russians, 15 wounded, 28 detained, and 4 are missing. This genocidal war is ordered by Putin, but carried out by regular Russians.

The IOC must stop trying to conceal Russian crimes with white flags."

Background:

• The IOC welcomed the offer from the Olympic Council of Asia to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in Asia, including potentially taking part in Olympic qualifying events. Russian and Belarusian athletes are currently unable to compete in Europe.
• On 27 January, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the beginning of an international campaign to prevent Russian athletes from competing in Olympic Games.
• On 28 January, Zelenskyy wrote to the presidents of the world's leading sports federations, urging them to make up their minds about the International Olympic Committee's decision to reinstate Russian athletes in international competitions. 
• Dmytro Kuleba, invited the IOC President, Thomas Bach, and other sports officials to the city of Druzhkivka, Donetsk Oblast, to see the consequences of Russia's attacks on Ukrainian athletes. Zelenskyy invited Bach to visit Bakhmut, which the Russian forces are trying to capture.
• Bach said he was willing to "explore the possibility" of allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports, even though this could lead to a boycott of the competition by Ukraine.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry said that all attempts to expel Russia from the international sports arena in relation to its war in Ukraine (which Russia continues to call a "special operation") are "doomed to fail".
• The IOC has rejected criticism from Ukrainian officials who accused it of war propaganda after the IOC said the Russians could potentially be given the chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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