The Ukrainian Olympic Committee is still considering boycotting next year’s Paris Olympics if the international committee accepts Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag.
Now other countries such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland could join the boycott.
“We have no compromise in this situation, when our Ukrainians die, when our women, children die, when our cities are bombed. 344 sports facilities have already been destroyed, 220 of our athletes have already died. Right now, we cannot compromise the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes,” said Vadim Gutzeit, President of the National Fencing Federation of Ukraine.
The controversy has overshadowed the announcement that the Olympic flame will begin its journey in the French city of Marseille in April.
The Summer Games will be held from next year and the Paralympics from August.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes could participate in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics as long as they did so under a neutral flag.