Ukraine officials will boycott next month’s Winter Paralympics after Russian and Belarusian athletes were invited to compete under their national flags.
On Tuesday, it was announced six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding at the Milan-Cortina Games, which start on 6 March.
In September, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted its ban on athletes from the two countries competing at the Games. However, the IPC does not govern the six sports contested at the Paralympics.
Despite the individual bodies – including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation – refusing to lift their own bans, Russia and Belarus won an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against FIS.
As a result, athletes have been able to return to FIS competitions and the 10 athletes have been awarded bipartite commission invitations to compete at the Paralympics.
“Ukrainian public officials will not attend the Paralympic Games,” said the country’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi. “We will not be present at the opening ceremony. We will not take part in any other official Paralympic events.”
Global backlash grows as leaders call decision ‘disappointing and outrageous’
European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef said he would also not attend the opening ceremony and called on others to “take the same stand”. Both countries were suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy called the move “completely the wrong decision”. Meanwhile, the British Paralympic Association described reinstatement as the “wrong approach” but acknowledged the IPC vote.
Responding, the IPC said the decision was taken democratically at its 2025 General Assembly. Meanwhile, Russian agency TASS reports athletes including Aleksey Bugaev, Ivan Golubkov and Anastasiia Bagiian are set to compete.
Tags: Ukraine, boycott, Winter Paralympics, Russian and Belarusian athletes, Court of Arbitration for Sport, International Paralympic Committee, IPC, European Commissioner for Sport, Glenn Micallef, UK culture secretary, Lisa Nandy.
