Olympic echoes of boycott era as Ukraine vs IOC intensifies

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2014 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and IOC President Thomas Bach meet in the Bolshoi Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia. The question of if and how Russia competes at the Olympics hangs over the 2024 Paris Summer Games. Just as it has now for five straight Olympics during Thomas Bach’s leadership of the IOC. The Bach-led International Olympic Committee's support this week for some Russians to compete in Paris as neutrals was publicly challenged Friday, Jan. 27, 2023 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service via AP, file)

FILE - Olena Kostevych and Bogdan Nikishin, of Ukraine, carry their country's flag during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Ukraine has stepped up efforts to lobby international sports leaders against Russian participation in next year’s Paris Olympics as indications mount that the games could see the biggest boycott since the Cold War. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, centre, attends a joint news conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, left, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte during their meeting in Tallinn, Estonia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries meet in Tallinn to discuss, among other things, joint aid efforts for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, and European Council President Charles Michel address a media conference after the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)