Allowing Russia to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, would demonstrate that violence is acceptable.
He claimed to have brought up the matter with Emmanuel Macron, the president of France.
He openly declared that Moscow must not be allowed to use the Olympics for propaganda.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), athletes from Belarus and Russia may participate in the Olympics as neutrals.
Terror Is Not Acceptable
Ukraine, meanwhile, has stated that if Russian and Belarusian athletes are permitted to compete, Paris 2024 will be boycotted.
In his weekly video message, Mr. Zelensky said that the IOC’s efforts to get Russian athletes back into the Olympic Games are attempts to teach the whole world that terror is somehow acceptable.
The Olympics and any other sporting event must not be used by Russia as propaganda for its aggressiveness or its state chauvinism, he continued.
This Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that competitors from Russia and Belarus may compete as neutral athletes, claiming that no athlete should be banned from competing just because of their passport.
However, Mr. Zelensky asserts that neutrality in athletics is impossible while athletes from his nation are losing their lives on the battlefield.
Comparison with the 1936 Olympics in Berlin
Additionally, he made comparisons to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, held under Nazi rule.
The Olympic movement and terrorist countries should never connect.
The decision to enable athletes to participate neutrally has also drawn criticism from the UK government for being a world removed from the reality of war. All weekend long, Russian soldiers have been pounding Kherson.
Strikes Still In Counting
In his daily speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of continuous Russian strikes in frontline areas.
In response to a day of strikes that claimed at least three lives, Russian soldiers continued to shell the Ukrainian city of Kherson into the night when Mr. Zelensky made his remarks.
Local authorities report that two of the six other injured were victims of the attack on the hospital.
The Kherson regional government reported that the area was continuously bombarded on Sunday after being roughly 40 times on Saturday.
Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Kherson was the only regional capital to fall to Russian forces, although they were pushed into a humiliating retreat in November.
Need New Weapons To Tackle the Situation
Russia, according to President Zelensky, has ramped up its attacks in the eastern Donetsk area. He also said that his forces needed new weapons to confront a situation of constant attacks.
Events must move quickly, supplies must be opened up, and Ukraine must be given access to modern weaponry, he said.
Zelensky reiterated information from his earlier talk on Saturday about intense combat in the Donetsk region, as well as information about the difficulties Ukrainian forces are having holding Bakhmut, which is where the fighting is most intense in the area.
The situation is quite difficult, Zelensky observed in a tone that was noticeably somber. Russian assaults on Bakhmut, Vuhledar, and other Donetsk region locations are ongoing.
Time as Weapon
Russia wants to prolong the conflict and use all of our resources. Therefore, we must use time as a weapon.
We are doing everything to guarantee that our pressure exceeds the offensive capabilities of the occupiers, said President Zelensky. Russian officials have said that their goal is to prolong the conflict and deplete our troops.
President Zelensky also paid tribute to those who lost their lives as a result of shelling in Kherson, where three people died on Sunday.
Ensure Transparency of Funding
To guarantee openness in the use of partners’ aid, US government inspectors met with the deputy prime minister of Ukraine to explore ideas for a new audit system.
Oleksandr Kubrakov, who also serves as the director of Ukraine’s infrastructure projects, emphasized that any funds used for infrastructure restoration and maintenance should be closely monitored with US help.
Since a controversy involving the selling of food packages at inflated rates, which forced the resignation of the deputy defense minister, Vyacheslav Shapovalov, scrutiny of how aid is handled in Ukraine has grown.
