"Neutral" Russians at 2024 Olympics Don't Talk Politics (Video)

Fifteen Russian athletes are taking part in the Olympic Games in “neutral” status. Many criticize the IOC's decision to allow them.

In particular, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, a Ukrainian Olympic champion in track and field who won a gold medal in Paris in the high jump, said, quotes Euronews:

“They did not say a word against the war, that is, they did not even speak out for peace.”

Let us recall that the demonstration of the Russian flag and the performance of the anthem are prohibited at the Olympic Games due to the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee denied admission to Russian athletes who publicly supported the war.

Meanwhile, Diana Schneider and Mirra Andreeva won silver medals in the women's doubles tennis tournament. Activists say that at the beginning of the full-scale war, Schneider “liked” publications by Russian propagandists. The Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports has a special page dedicated to this.

At a press conference in Paris, a journalist tried to find out from Diana whether her views had changed:

“In February 2022, you liked two posts on Instagram. Do you regret it and has your position changed?”

To which Diana Schneider responded:

“I'm not going to answer anything about politics here. No comments on that. I'm here to talk about tennis and my game today.”

As a result of Russian military aggression, about 500 Ukrainian athletes were killed, thousands of coaches and athletes went to the front. Many athletes who came to Paris were repeatedly forced to interrupt their training in Ukraine due to Russian strikes and air raids, some athletes lived under occupation. Yaroslava Mahuchikh says:

“We all know very well where these athletes actually came from. They didn't say a word against war, that is, they didn't even speak out for peace. That's why I think it's very bad, because the Olympic Games are about peace. And all wars always stop for a while, but Russia didn't stop, there were massive attacks on Ukrainian cities during these games. How can you allow a terrorist to participate in a competition for peace?”

Ukraine is represented by 140 athletes at the XXXIII Summer Olympics.

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