He has also criticised the IOC for their policy of "neutrality" and for their proposals to allow Russian athletes to participate as neutrals at Paris 2024.

In the last few days some 30 nations had written to the IOC with questions about the definition of "neutral" athletes.

"I would be very happy to invite Thomas Bach to Kyiv, to Ukraine so that he can see for himself the destroyed villages, the cities, to see how many people are killed," he told Agence France Press.

"He doesn't understand... or plays some games with Russia."

As the first anniversary of the invasion approaches, Klitschko's younger brother Wladimir, an Olympic gold medallist in 1996, has branded Russian President Vladmir Putin as a "criminal".

"Russia is led by a criminal who lives in fantasy," Wladimir Klitschko said in a social media post.

"But this fake reality makes real victims."

Both brothers had been critical of Russian athletes who served in the military or attended rallies in support of the war.

Some had also displayed the "Z" symbol which is considered widely in support of the invasion.

The IOC today issued a statement in anticipation of the one year anniversary of the war.

"The IOC reiterates its condemnation of the war in Ukraine, which is a blatant violation of the Olympic Truce that was in effect at the time, and the Olympic Charter," the statement said.

"The IOC sanctioned the Russian and Belarusian States and Governments, who are solely responsible for this war, in an unprecedented way."

It insisted that sanctions "remain firmly in place."