Ukraine expects IOC to suspend Russia from ympics – PM Shmyhal

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated this on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

"Sports and military aggression are incompatible. States that have stained themselves with the blood of Ukrainians must not participate in the ympics," said the head of the Ukrainian government.

He emphasized that since the full-scale invasion, Russia has killed 340 Ukrainian athletes and coaches, destroyed or damaged 343 sports facilities, and has been attacking Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles and drones on a daily basis.

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"Ukraine is determined. A powerful international coalition for fair sport has been formed, which includes 35 states. Together, we are ready to boycott Paris ympics if the Russian Federation and Belarus are allowed to compete. We expect the IOC to make the right decision and resutely remove the aggressor from the ympics," Shmyhal said.

As reported earlier, the International ympic Committee (IOC) announced it would not send invitations to Russia and Belarus for the 2024 Summer ympics in Paris (France).

Paris will host the Summer ympics from July 26 to August 11, 2024, while the Paralympics will be held from August 28 to September 8.