"Asking Ukrainians is low": Russian biathlon champion makes an absurd statement about the IOC's fear of Russia

Former biathlete Svetlana Ishmuratova has criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its head Thomas Bach for allegedly asking Ukrainian athletes to monitor Russian statements about the war on the Internet. The two-time Games winner hypocritically accused the IOC of putting pressure on representatives of the aggressor country.

Ishmuratova said this in an interview with the propaganda channel Match TV. The accomplice of Vladimir Putin's regime, who holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army of the Russian occupiers, was also outraged by the IOC's call for national federations not to send their athletes to the so-called Friendship Games in Yekaterinburg in September this year.

"Bach's threats prove their fear of us. What's wrong with holding international competitions? I do not exclude, I even believe that our people will make the Friendship Games a bright and memorable event. Foreign athletes have a choice whether to come or not. And asking Ukrainians to follow our athletes is generally low. Everyone has their own opinion on a particular situation. We need to train, not follow our guys," Ishmuratova said.

Earlier, Russian Olympic Committee (IOC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov demanded that the IOC move the 2024 Games from Paris after the city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said she did not want athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the president of the Russian Wrestling Federation (FSBI), Mikhail Mamiashvili, complained that in Paris, "Wehrmacht troops were joyfully welcomed" but that they "do not want to see" Russians. And two-time Olympic gymnastics champion Lidia Ivanova called Anne Hidalgo an idiot.

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