In the debate about the re-admission of Russian athletes, former boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko asked IOC boss Thomas Bach to get a picture of the war in Ukraine again.
“Mr. Bach should go to Bucha. It’s time he compared the propaganda from Moscow with the reality on the ground,” said Klitschko in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”.
After the withdrawal of Russian troops, hundreds of civilian bodies were found in the Kiev suburb of Bucha – some in the middle of the street, with signs of torture and hands tied behind their backs. “These are the pictures whose consequences are at stake,” Klitschko warned.
Sharp criticism of IOC plans
The 46-year-old Ukrainian once again sharply criticized the plans of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to pave the way for athletes from Russia and Belarus to return to the international sports stage. According to the will of the IOC, the athletes would have to start under a neutral flag, make a clear commitment to the Olympic charter and not actively support the war in Ukraine.
“Let’s not be fooled. Again, I haven’t seen any athletes speak out against the war, especially current athletes,” Klitschko said. IOC President Bach, who met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Kiev last summer, represents Russian interests more than Olympic values. “It cannot be that the free world is told again and again: ‘But what do the athletes have to do with it?’ It has everything to do with each other. Sport has a lot to do with the war,” said Klitschko.
Even after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in 2014, there were no consequences. “If there are no consequences for Russia, Russia will not rest. That’s why there are no ifs and buts. There is no neutrality,” warned Klitschko.
