In a dispute over the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes, the president of Ukraine invited the IOC president to Bakhmut.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has extended an invitation to Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to visit the front-line city of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian soldiers are fighting a bloody war against Russian forces.
After the Olympic committee stated that a "route" should be investigated to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Games, Zelenskyy issued the provocative invitation on Friday.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia and its ally Belarus have been prohibited from participating in most Olympic sports.
"Mr. Bach, please come to Bakhmut. Zelenskyy stated in a speech that was circulated on social media that he wanted the man to "see with his own eyes that neutrality does not exist."
Any neutral banner of Russian athletes is obviously covered with blood, he declared.
The main area of conflict in Ukraine right now is Bakhmut, which is located in the eastern part of Donetsk.
Athletes from Belarus and Russia may have a chance to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, according to Bach, but only if they do so under a neutral flag.
During a news conference in the German town of Oberhof, Bach stated that the goal is to bring athletes from all around the world together, "particularly when their countries are in strife."
Bach stated that although "individual, neutral athletes from these nations without any affiliation with their nationality" might "potentially" compete next year, "the principle that has been put down is: No Russian or Belarusian athletes."
The IOC, he emphasised, is only "in the beginning of extremely comprehensive consultations" on the subject.
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