The IOC offers the following Video News Release to all news agencies, broadcasters and online news platforms free of charge. STORY SCRIPT: International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and Ukrainian Minister for Youth and Sport Vadym Guttsait have visited Ukrainian athletes living and training in Switzerland. President Bach and Minister Guttsait, both Olympic champions in fencing, were joined at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, by Sergii Bubka, Olympic Champion, IOC Member & President of the NOC of Ukraine. The Ukrainian athletes currently training abroad have not returned home following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, supported by Belarus, on 24 February 2022. Since the start of the war, the IOC has led the solidarity efforts of the Olympic Movement to help the Olympic Community in Ukraine. The IOC has set up a Solidarity Fund and provided – together with Olympic Solidarity – USD 1 million. The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has provided funding of USD 0.5 million. With the donations received from Olympic Movement stakeholders, this fund now totals over USD 2 million and is currently being distributed.
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