Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ukraine Olympic team calls for peace, IOC wants no protests

The Ukrainian Olympic team has followed the lead of skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych in calling for peace

Via AP news wire
Sunday 13 February 2022 05:20 EST
Beijing Olympics Ukraine Sign
Beijing Olympics Ukraine Sign

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Ukrainian Olympic team has followed the lead of skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych in calling for peace.

Heraskevych held up a sign with a Ukrainian flag and the message “No War in Ukraine” after completing a run in the skeleton competition on Friday at the Beijing Games. The message came against the backdrop of a Russian military build-up near the country’s border with Ukraine.

“The Olympic Team of Ukraine ... expresses a unanimous call for peace together with (our) native country,” the Ukrainian Olympic Committee wrote on social media. “Being thousands of kilometers away from the Motherland, mentally we are with our families and friends.”

The statement doesn’t mention Russia or the military situation.

The International Olympic Committee bans most protest gestures at the Games. But the Olympic body isn’t taking action against Heraskevych because “‘No war’ is a message we can all relate to,” said Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the Olympic Games.

That doesn’t mean the IOC wants other athletes to join in, however.

“We all want peace, clearly,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Sunday. “Athletes themselves have agreed that the field of play and the podium is not the place for any kind of statement because we need to remain politically neutral ... The message was understood. It (the sign) wasn’t repeated and I think we can move on.”

No Ukrainian athletes have so far followed Heraskevych’s lead by protesting in competition.

___

More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in