Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has continued to lash out at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and their president, Thomas Bach, for refusing to drop athletes from Russia and Belarus from the upcoming 2024 Olympic games in Paris, France.

Klitschko, of Ukraine, has been a big critic of the IOC for their decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete in the Olympics - although the competitors must remain under a neutral banner.

For nearly a year, Russia has been engaged in a military conflict with Ukraine. Belarus has been a close ally to Russia.

"Thomas Bach talks all the time about the 'neutrality' of the IOC," Klitschko told the Frankfurter Allgemeine.

"The fact is that Thomas Bach is not neutral. He represents Russian interests, rather than Olympic values. He cannot stand under a white flag. Sport, business and politics have a lot to do with each other. The Olympic Games, in particular, have always been part of politics.

"Speaking of the colors, the white, neutral flag: there is a good sentence in German: 'You have to show your colors'. There are no ifs and buts. Unfortunately, he does not represent the Olympic values but the aggressor. He supports the propaganda. Russian athletes, who are members of the Russian Ministry of Defense and who participated in the International Military Championships. But they also competed in the Winter Olympics and are now scheduled to compete in the next Summer Games. Russian propaganda uses this."

Wladimir's older brother, Vitali Klitschko, is the mayor of Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv.

The younger Klitschko is angered, claiming that Russian athletes are not speaking out against the war.

"You let the aggressor, the murderer and his representatives and accomplices onto the world stage," said Klitschko.

"Those who are still doing business with Russia are supporting the Russian army and contributing to the shelling of their rockets that have been pouring into our cities and killing our children for almost a year. The soldiers rape our women. It's all connected.

"I have yet to see any current Russian athlete publicly speaking out against the war. That means they support it. And we've already seen the athletes wearing the 'Z' mark. They support this regime, this war, this propaganda."