Russia Ukraine war Russian

PInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has defended plans to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international ...

CNN has sought clarification from the IOC and FIE. “As long as Russia’s war of aggression, aided by Belarus, wages on, both states’ athletes and officials must remain excluded from world sport. In other countries, they’re even issuing working permits where it’s necessary for these players and athletes.” “We see this almost every day in a number of sports. “We see it in some table tennis competitions, we see it in ice hockey, we see it in handball, we see it in football and in other leagues – in the United States, but also in Europe, and we also see it in other continents.” “First of all, what is maybe most important, what has changed, is that participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in competitions and in international competitions, works,” Bach said Tuesday, at the start of the IOC Executive Board’s three-day meeting to discuss solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and the status of athletes from these countries.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday issued recommendations for the gradual return to international competitions for Russian and Belarusian ...

"Its athletes do not belong in the Olympic Games. Russian sport is centrally managed by the Kremlin. "Participation of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in international competitions works," Bach told the board at the start of the meeting at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne. He did not say when the IOC would take that decision. After daily bombing of civilian targets!! "We must not close our eyes to reality.

Olympic chiefs on Tuesday recommended the return to competition of Russian and Belarusian athletes as individual neutrals, but refused to give a timeline on ...

"We want to monitor the implementation of these recommendations as long as possible... "The results of this monitoring procedure will be an important factor in the decision by the IOC concerning the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026." "The announced criteria for the return to international competitions are unacceptable. Bach added the "participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 was not considered either in the consultations or in its deliberations today." Also missing out will be "athletes who actively support the war" as well as "athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies." Among other IOC recommendations — which Bach said were agreed unanimously — the IOC said "teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport cannot be considered."

President Bach has condemned Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but believes governments calling for a blanket ban on Russians in sport amounts to political ...

Mr Bach has directly condemned Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but believes governments calling for a blanket ban on Russians in sport amounts to political interference. [Russians](https://news.sky.com/topic/russia-5803) as neutrals into their events if they have not actively supported the war on [Ukraine](https://news.sky.com/topic/ukraine-6556) or are contracted to the military. President Bach has condemned Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but believes governments calling for a blanket ban on Russians in sport amounts to political interference

Situation at Zaporizhzhia 'very dangerous', says UN nuclear watchdog; Avdiika 'being wiped off face of the earth' says top local official.

Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, said the committee’s decision was [“a slap in the face for all Ukrainian athletes”.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/mar/28/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-updates-multiple-russian-drones-shot-down-over-kyiv-blasts-attack?page=with:block-64231d1a8f08534bb7087e72#block-64231d1a8f08534bb7087e72) Court officials said on Tuesday that the 54-year-old had [fled house arrest](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/mar/28/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-updates-multiple-russian-drones-shot-down-over-kyiv-blasts-attack?page=with:block-6422fb3f8f08d5b1b3c5aafb#block-6422fb3f8f08d5b1b3c5aafb)and his whereabouts were unknown. The International Olympic Committee has recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in international sporting events under a neutral flag. [his 12-year-old daughter drew a picture](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/01/russian-detained-over-anti-war-statements-and-daughter-taken-into-care)depicting Russian bombing a family in Ukraine has been sentenced to two years in a penal colony, according to a rights group. During the past seven days, the Ukrainian leader has visited the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, parts of which were retaken last year from Russia, to the frontline area near Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, and to Zaporizhzhia in the south. Russian forces have been making recent gradual gains on the flanks of Avdiivka, and the Ukrainian military said last week that the city could become a “second Bakhmut”.

The US says it had not seen any indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing to use tactical nuclear weapons in the Russian war on Ukraine, ...

Japan said it had witnessed an increase in Russian military activities in the Sea of Japan region. [the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut](/news/liveblog/2023/3/28/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-to-exhaust-russian-forces-in-bakhmut)and have almost taken full control of the city’s metals plant. [The International Olympic Committee](/news/2023/3/28/ioc-recommends-return-of-russian-belarusian-athletes-as-neutrals)has recommended the gradual return to international competitions for Russian and Belarusian athletes who participate as “individual neutral” competitors.

The Ukrainian military said it repelled 24 Russian attacks as heavy fighting rages in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Follow here for live updates.

The US Navy has not sailed into the Black Sea since December 2021. However, the new routes place those flights more than forty nautical miles from the Ukrainian coast, rather than the 12 nautical miles normally recognized as the limit of a nation’s airspace. When CNN first reported this change, one US official said the new routes were part of an effort “to avoid being too provocative,” as the Biden administration continues to be careful to avoid any incident that could escalate into a direct conflict with Russian forces.

Germany and Britain have delivered Western heavy tanks to Ukraine, officials said Monday, providing a key infusion of armored firepower that will aid.

Nato on Sunday criticised Vladimir Putin for what it called his "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric, a day after the Russian president said he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. It demanded a Security Council session and also called on the G7 countries and the EU to warn Belarus of 'consequences' if it decides to accept the Russian weapons. The plan is one of Russia's clearest nuclear signals since the start of its invasion of Ukraine 13 months ago, and Ukraine called for a meeting of the UN Security Council in response. "Russia once again confirms its chronic inability to be a responsible steward of nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and prevention of war, not as a tool of threats and intimidation," the ministry said. "Together with its Euro-Atlantic partners, Lithuania will decide how to react to these militaristic plans of the Russian and Belarusian regimes," the ministry said in a statement. Russian air defences halted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian town on Sunday in which three people were hurt and apartment blocks were damaged, the Russian defence ministry said. Nato castigated Vladimir Putin over his nuclear rhetoric a day after the Russian president said he planned to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, escalating a standoff with the West. "Fire and rescue services are at the site of the fire after the explosion in the Sviatoshyno district of the capital," Klitschko said in a Telegram post, following it up to note that the fire had been contained, and "No casualties were found". The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said in a Monday evening update that Russian forces were still trying to storm Bakhmut and had shelled the city and surrounding towns. In his comments on Saturday, Putin likened the move to the US stationing its weapons in Europe, while insisting that Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises. Speaking during a televised interview on Saturday, Putin said Moscow would station the tactical nuclear weapons "without violating our international agreements on nuclear non-proliferation". "Without an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and staff from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and adjacent areas, any initiatives on restoring nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure," the presidential website quoted Zelenskyy as saying.

On Monday, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine had received Challenger main battle tanks from the UK; Stryker infantry fighting vehicles and Cougar ...

The ammunition for its 120 mm gun is widely available among NATO armies. And three Leopard 2 main battle tanks donated by Portugal have arrived in Ukraine, the country’s ministry of defense said in a statement on Monday. On Monday, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine had received Challenger main battle tanks from the UK; Stryker infantry fighting vehicles and Cougar infantry mobility vehicles from the United States; and Marder infantry fighting vehicles from Germany.