Ukraine eyes Olympic bid despite economic struggles

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s new president has asked officials to consider a bid to host the Olympics, even with the economy still damaged by years of political turmoil.

Former comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was elected president in April, says there should be a national plan to build and fund sports facilities for a future Olympic bid.

He doesn’t say whether Ukraine should target the Summer or Winter Olympics, but says “we should be ambitious.” Sergei Bubka, the former pole vaulter who runs the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, has suggested the Youth Olympic Games might be a more realistic aim for now.

Ukraine entered a bid to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics in the city of Lviv, but abandoned that in 2014, shortly after months of protests forced then-President Viktor Yanukovych from office.