Ukrainian athletes should not compete in Olympic qualifiers alongside Russians, says government

Wrestler Zhan Beleniuk won Ukraine's lone golden medal astatine the 2020 Olympics successful Tokyo

Ukrainian athletes volition not beryllium allowed to vie successful qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if Russians are taking part, says authorities curate Oleh Nemchinov.

The determination was made aft a connection by sports curate Vadym Guttsait.

Participation could spot federations sanctioned and suffer "national status".

• Government disapproval implicit instrumentality of Russian athletes 'deplorable', says IOC president

"At a gathering of the government, a protocol determination was made connected the connection of workfellow Guttsait that we instrumentality portion successful qualifying competitions lone wherever determination are nary Russians," Nemchinov said.

"Accordingly, information extracurricular these criteria whitethorn beryllium grounds for depriving federations of their nationalist status."

Guttsait is president of Ukraine's Olympic committee.

The IOC called connected federations to exclude athletes from Russia and cardinal state Belarus pursuing Russia's penetration successful February 2022.

Their caller proposal lone extends to idiosyncratic athletes, not teams, and it is yet to marque a determination connected whether Russians and Belarusians tin vie astatine the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Paris Games if a prohibition connected Russian and Belarusian athletes is not upheld.

However, the IOC has said it volition "explore a pathway" to let athletes from those nations to enactment astatine the Games.

IOC president Thomas Bach claimed connected Tuesday the inclusion of Russian and Belarusians athletes successful planetary contention has already been shown to work, but that has been disputed by respective athletes opposed to their readmission.

Bach identified Ukrainian tennis subordinate Marta Kostyuk's triumph against Russian Varvara Gracheva successful the ATX Open last this month, successful which the Ukrainian refused to shingle her opponent's manus aft winning her archetypal WTA title, arsenic an example.

"We person a ranking strategy successful our sport. If I don't enactment I volition suffer my ranking and my vocation volition beryllium over," said Kostyuk, who besides refused to shingle the manus of Belarusian Victoria Azarenka astatine the US Open successful September.

"A batch has been said and I wanted to accidental from myself, we person not been doing it publicly, but for the past twelvemonth we person been warring to exclude Russians and Belarusians from our sport.

"Unfortunately we are not autarkic players. We are moving for the WTA and ATP, and we bash not person a batch of powerfulness to marque changes."

Fellow tennis subordinate Lesia Tsurenko said facing Russians is an "ethical conflict".

"It affected maine truthful that I had benignant of panic attacks," Tsurenko said.

Nemchinov added: "I privation to archer our chap athletes who are disquieted that owed to the IOC measures and the admittance of Russians oregon Belarusians to competitions, and accordingly Ukrainians volition not beryllium capable to participate, that their careers volition beryllium broken.

"But your beingness and that of your children volition remain."

The United Kingdom is among 36 countries to person pledged enactment for an ongoing ban.