Ukrainian Athletes Ask IOC to Suspend Russia, Belarus in Open Letter amid Invasion

AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Olympic athletes from a number of countries, most notably Ukraine, called on the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees to suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, is a clear breach of the Olympic and Paralympic Charters—a breach that must be met with strong sanctions,” the letter, which was addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach and IPC President Andrew Parsons, said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The letter included requests from nearly 50 athletes from Ukraine, the United States, Latvia and the Netherlands, as well as members of the Russian fencing team and the Belarus Sport Solidarity Athletes Federation.

It explained more Ukrainian athletes would have joined, but “it has been a challenge to speak with all athletes from Ukraine as they are seeking safety in bomb shelters.”

The timing is particularly noteworthy since the Paralympics are scheduled to start next Friday.

The IOC condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because it violated the Olympic Truce. It said it is “deeply concerned about the safety of the Olympic Community in Ukraine” and “established a task force to closely monitor the situation and to coordinate humanitarian assistance to members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine where possible.”

The Olympic Truce calls for peace between nations extending from seven days before the Olympics begin until seven days after the Paralympics end.

While neither the IOC nor the IPC has taken any direct action, they did call for international sporting federations to move events outside of Russia and Belarus.

The IOC is not the only major sporting body under the spotlight given the current situation, as Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic all said they will not play against Russia in the FIFA World Cup playoff with games scheduled for March in Moscow.

Tariq Panja of the New York Times reported FIFA does not plan to ban Russia from the event but did advocate for penalties that would force the nation to play in a neutral venue and without its national anthem or flag.

Russia potentially playing those soccer games under a different name resembles previous penalties from the IOC, which had athletes from the nation compete at the Olympics under the name of the Russian Olympic Committee as punishment for its state-sponsored doping program.

Even then, Russia once again became a story at the 2022 Beijing Games when a doping controversy surrounding figure skater Kamila Valieva became one of the biggest stories of the Olympics.