President Volodymyr Zelensky invited the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, to Bakhmut so that he would understand that neutrality does not exist.
Zelenskyi said this in an address on January 27.
"We are starting a marathon of honesty, which will be aimed at clearing the leadership of international Olympic structures of hypocrisy and any attempts to "draw" representatives of a terrorist state into world sports," said the Ukrainian president.
He emphasized that there can be no question of neutrality as long as the war continues.
"We will do everything to ensure that the world protects sports from political and any other influence of the terrorist state, which is simply inevitable if Russian athletes participate in competitions. And especially – at the Paris Olympics.
I invite Mr. Bach to Bakhmut. So that he could see with his own eyes that neutrality does not exist," Zelenskyy said.
- On January 25, Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral flag.