Russia’s Limited Presence At Paris 2024 Is ‘A Victory,’ Says Ukraine Olympics Chief

PARIS (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s Olympic delegation touted the limited numbers of Russian athletes at the Paris Olympics — who must compete as neutrals — as war between the two countries grinds on for a third year.

Vadym Guttsait told The Associated Press in an interview that Ukraine began the effort to reduce the number of Russian and Belarusian athletes after the Kremlin’s forces invaded Ukraine in 2022 and have kept pressing it nearly until the start of the Games in Paris. Belarus is a key ally of Moscow’s.

“During the war, they have no place in the international world,” Guttsait said. “Because every day our people, women and children are killed. Every day they bomb us, and the missiles are flying over our country.”

Only 15 Russian athletes will be competing in the Games and they won’t officially be representing Russia. Russia and neighboring Belarus were banned from sending national teams because of the war in Ukraine, so athletes approved to compete from those countries will do so under neutral status, including tennis star Daniil Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021.

“It’s nothing,” Guttsait said about Russia’s presence at the 2024 Olympics. “It’s already a victory.”

In Russia, the Olympics are shown in a negative light or not at all in the media. Newspapers’ main approach has been to play up the negative, writing about crime in Paris and the inconvenience of barricades placed throughout the city. Russia’s state TV channels aren’t broadcasting any of the events.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova have both slammed the Olympics opening ceremony for LGBTQ-friendly performances. Zakharova also pointed to the rain that soaked the ceremony and issues with the cleanliness