Salnikov, who said last week that he believed Russian athletes would be unable to take part in this year’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July, described the situation as a "crisis" for the Olympic Movement.

"Everything is written in the Olympic Charter, it says about uniting everyone in the name of peace, about the inadmissibility of any discrimination," said Salnikov, as reported by Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

"What we see now is a perversion of all fundamental principles: everyone is equal , but we are more equal, and the rest - according to the residual principle."

Salnikov also echoed comments from Russian Synchronised Swimming Federation President Olga Brusnikina, who accused Ukraine of "blackmailing the entire Olympic Movement."

"Political decisions are at the forefront, blackmail is now taking place on the part of the leaders of countries and Governments," said Salnikov.

"It makes sense to gather the international sports community and ask if sport remains a unifying factor or will it simply disappear and everyone will do something in their own corners."

Ukrainian national divers yesterday released a video calling on World Aquatics and other International Federations to maintain bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes from their competitions, and shared stories on how the war in Russia had impacted their lives.

The International Olympic Committee last month published recommendations to International Federations that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to return to international competitions as neutral athletes, with World Aquatics creating a task force to explore how Russian and Belarusian athletes could return along these lines.

Salnikov is a four-time Olympic swimming champion, winning golds in the 400 metres freestyle, 1500m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle at Moscow 1980, and a further gold in the 1500m freestyle at Seoul 1988.