The International Olympic Committee has shrugged off sharp criticism from Ukrainian officials who accused it of warmongering after the body said Russian athletes could be given a chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Reuters.

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The IOC rejects defamatory criticism from Ukraine

Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, said late last week that the IOC promotes “violence, mass murder, destruction” and said on Monday that Russia’s presence at the Olympics would mean giving the country a “platform for promotion”. genocide”.

“The IOC strongly rejects this claim and other defamatory statements. They cannot be the basis for any constructive discussion.” – said the statement of the IOC.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who last week called for a campaign to prevent Russian athletes from competing in Paris, on Monday asked the Danish Prime Minister for support.

In his speech, Zelensky promised to “protect sports structures and the international Olympic movement from being discredited by the efforts of some representatives of the sports bureaucracy to allow the presence of Russian athletes at international competitions.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, previously noted that many Russian Olympians have connections with the military, in particular, they advocate for sports clubs of the Ministry of Defense.

“An army that commits atrocities, kills, rapes and robs. He is the one whom the ignorant IOC wants to white-flag, allowing him to compete.” Kuleba wrote about this on Twitter.

Russia denies accusations that its military committed crimes in Ukraine.