MILAN, Italy, Feb 20 : Ukrainian competitors will boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony on March 6 in Verona, its committee said on Friday, due to the authorization of some Russian and Belarusian athletes with their national flags.
The International Paralympic Committee’s allocation of 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes has created a political storm over the upcoming Games given bitterness over the four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, which has been excluded from much international competition due to the war, says it is wrong to mix sport and politics while targeting disabled athletes is offensive.
“The National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine declares that the Ukrainian Paralympic team and the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine are boycotting the opening ceremony of the 14th Winter Paralympic Games and demand that the Ukrainian flag not be used at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics-2026,” the Ukrainian committee said in a statement.
That stance follows the disqualification from the Winter Games of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a helmet commemorating athletes killed in the war.
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi has said Ukrainian officials will boycott the March 6-15 Paralympics though the nation’s athletes will still take part.
Russia will have two spots in Para alpine skiing, two in cross-country skiing and two in snowboarding while Belarus was awarded four places, all in cross-country skiing.
“We draw attention to the fact that neither russia nor belarus went through the qualification process to obtain licences to participate in the Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina,” the Ukrainian statement read.
“Moreover, this occurred in accordance with the status of the russian and belarusian Paralympic committees that they received as countries that are carrying out a horrific military aggression on the territory of Ukraine.”
