Only 140 Ukrainian athletes will compete at the Olympic Games in Paris this year, the smallest number in the history of the country's participation in the games, as Russia's war has damaged or destroyed sports' facilities and frequent air raid alerts interrupt training.
Ukraine's National Olympic Committee (NOC) and Sports Ministry called on July 5 for Russian athletes to be barred from participating in the upcoming Olympics in Paris due to evidence of their support for the Russian military, violating neutrality rules.
Another five athletes have not participated in such "propaganda tournaments," but their social media activity indicates that they also support the war, Babel said.
Belarus signals willingness for border security talks as Poland mulls full border closure and turns to China for solutions amid intensified migration crisis. The U.S. designates Belarus as State Sponsor of Human Trafficking in a 2024 report, highlighting forced labor, complicity in abduction of Ukrainian children, and worsening migration
The Ukrainian national team performed strongly at the European Aquatics Championship in Belgrade, securing five medals, including two gold.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh won the gold medal and defended her title as the European high jump champion at the European Athletics Championship on June 9, while fellow Ukrainian athlete Iryna Gerashchenko won bronze.
"(The hackers) are trying to cultivate an anticipation of violence," said Clint Watts, the head of Microsoft’s Digital Threat Analysis Center, in comments to the New York Times.
Chinese President Xi Jinping supported on May 6 the idea of a global truce during the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, Le Monde reported.
The recommendations were developed to protect the 89 Ukrainian athletes who have qualified to compete at the Olympics, their coaches, and members of Ukraine's official delegation "from provocative situations" and promote their safety in Paris, the UOC and Sports Ministry said.
"We want to work towards the Olympic truce and I think that this is an opportunity on which I will try to involve many of our partners," Macron said, speaking to BFMTV 100 days before the Olympics start in Paris.
The Kremlin has accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of “racism and neo-Nazism” over its decision to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to take part in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics this summer, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on March 19.
Under the rules, Russian and Belarusian athletes will not be able to participate as teams nor display any flags or any official identification with either country. Athletes or support personnel who have openly supported the war will not be allowed, as will anyone who has served or is affiliated with either the military or security organizations of Russia or Belarus.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Oct. 12 that it would suspend the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after it incorporated the regional sports organizations from four territories illegally annexed from Ukraine. In its statement, the IOC said the ROC’s inclusion of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia’s sports
Editor's Note: This interview was recorded before the International Olympics Committee's announcement on allowing some Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in Olympic qualification tournaments. Following the executive board meeting on March 28, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) recommended allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in international
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