MOSCOW, April 14 The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine called on the International Olympic Committee and sports federations ban athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in competitions. «The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appeals to the International Olympic Committee and the governing bodies of international sports federations and recommends banning the participation of athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus in international competitions and excluding citizens of these countries from the governing bodies of these organizations,» it says in a message from the ruling Servant of the People party on the Telegram channel. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops. With the support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the DPR and LPR groups are developing an offensive. But there is no talk of the occupation of Ukraine, the President of Russia emphasized.
