Ukraine 2022 Winter Olympic bid on thin ice but still alive

With the crisis in Ukraine escalating by the day, the prospect of the Winter Olympics going to the former Soviet republic seems hard to imagine. Yet, the western Ukrainian city of Lviv hasn't given up on its bid for the 2022 Games.

Lviv remains among the five contenders in the race, vying with Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; and Oslo.

But the Lviv bid is in a state of limbo amid Ukraine's burgeoning tensions with Russia and pending presidential elections on May 25, a result that could determine whether the candidacy is dropped or goes forward to the IOC's short-list decision in July.

Bid chief executive Sergej Gontcharov tells The Associated Press “currently our dream is on hold due to the current circumstances in Ukraine and at least until after the presidential elections.”