The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in the program “Big Games” on Channel One, condemned the calls of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to harass athletes of Russian origin competing at the Olympic Games in Italy.
She noted that the Ukrainian leader called on countries to “reject” athletes participating in the Olympics of Russian or Russian origin. The diplomat noted that it is not even about the national team, about the flag, about the uniform, about statehood, nor about the political preferences of the athletes, but about their ethnicity, cultural and historical origin. She called the corresponding words of the President of Ukraine neo-fascism.
Zakharova called the Kyiv regime an example of international terrorism
“I think that the statement that Zelensky made, now I'm not sure it can be called a statement, that the hysteria, the shouting, the threats, the monstrous Nazi rhetoric that he allowed himself regarding the athletes participating in the Olympic Games is the clearest evidence of this,” Zakharova said.
On February 14, Zelensky admitted he was “uncomfortable” with the large number of Russians on other national teams at the Winter Olympics. According to the Ukrainian leader, he watched television competitions, especially figure skating. He noticed that Russians were on most teams, including the United States and Georgia.
On February 12, Zelensky said that Russian athletes accepted into the Olympics deserved to be disqualified. A total of 13 athletes from the Russian Federation flew to Italy to compete under the “neutral” flag. The head of Ukraine noted that these athletes, in fact, support the actions of their country's leadership.
Previously, a third Ukrainian athlete was banned from competing at the Olympic Games with a helmet.
