KYIV: Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Olympics in 2024 due to Moscow鈥檚 invasion, the sports minister said on Tuesday.

Vadym Huttsait, 51, a former Olympic fencing champion, told Reuters the idea of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals was unacceptable.

鈥淚t is impossible for us at a time when the full-scale war is going on, when our athletes, our soldiers are defending our homeland,鈥� he said in his Kyiv office, beside a wall with portraits of athletes killed in the war.

Last week the International Olympic Committee said it was open to including Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals at the Games and opened a door to them competing in qualifiers, prompting an international campaign by Kyiv to keep them out.

Moscow said on Tuesday it would welcome any IOC moves to allow its athletes to compete in the Olympics. But hours later the IOC said it was standing by sanctions imposed against the countries over Russia鈥檚 invasion.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Tuesday that 鈥淩ussian politization of sport would invariably mean justification of terror.鈥�

At least 220 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died in the war, said Huttsait, who won an Olympic fencing team gold in 1992 for the so-called Unified Team, which comprised 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics. He also coached Ukraine鈥檚 winning team at the 2008 Games.

鈥淯kraine will unite with many countries ... and it (Russians competing) will not be allowed,鈥� he added, saying 40 nations had given Ukrainian athletes housing and training assistance abroad during the war.

There has been little public support yet from other nations for an outright ban on Russians at Paris.

The IOC鈥檚 initial recommendation to ban Russians and Belarusians has been applied by many sports federations.

But last week, it backed a proposal by the Olympic Council of Asia to allow them to compete in Asia, which could potentially include Olympic qualifying events.

Should that happen, Ukraine鈥檚 sporting authorities and athletes will face a 鈥渧ery difficult decision鈥� whether to boycott Paris, Huttsait said.

鈥淲hen we lose so many people, so many athletes, the lives of Ukrainians are more important to us than any medal at international competitions,鈥� he said.

Ukrainian officials have turned on the IOC in recent days for promoting 鈥渧iolence, mass murders, destruction鈥� with the idea of giving Russia a 鈥減latform to promote genocide.鈥�

The IOC has called that defamatory and said such words do not promote constructive discussion.

Zelensky said 鈥渙nly the free world acting together can protect sport from those sports bureaucrats who for some reason are ready to close their eyes to reality.鈥�

On Tuesday, former boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko called on IOC head Thomas Bach not to betray the Olympic spirit and become an 鈥渁ccomplice in this abominable war.鈥�

Moscow is trying to turn the page on years of doping scandals after its teams were forced to compete without their flag or anthem at the Olympics and major international events.