Ukraine’s sports minister slams the IPC for allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags at the Paralympics, calling it a propaganda victory.
UKRAINE’S sports minister has condemned the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at next month’s Milano Cortina Paralympics.
Matvii Bidnyi described the move as “disappointing and outrageous” in a social media post on Wednesday. He argued that providing a platform for these athletes gives a voice to war propaganda.
“The decision by the Paralympic organisers to allow killers and their accomplices to take part in the Paralympic Games under national flags is disappointing and outrageous,” Bidnyi said. He stated that raising the Russian flag on the international stage integrates it into Russia’s propaganda machine.
The IPC’s decision permits six Russian and four Belarusian para athletes to participate. Russia regained full membership rights last September after member organisations voted to lift a partial suspension imposed following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus was a key staging area for that invasion. The IPC’s ruling follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal win by both nations against sport-specific bans in December.
Russia will have two spots each in Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country skiing, and Para snowboard. Belarus was awarded four slots, all in Para cross-country skiing.
“The flags of russia and belarus have no place at international sporting events that stand for fairness, integrity, and respect,” Bidnyi added. He accused the regimes of turning sport into a tool of war.
The minister’s criticism follows similar outrage from Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych. Heraskevych was disqualified from the Winter Olympics over a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war.
He recently criticised organisers for allowing a Russian volunteer to carry a sign ahead of Ukraine’s delegation at the opening ceremony. The volunteer, a Russian living in Milan, reportedly wanted to show support for Ukraine and condemn the invasion.
“It looks like some campaign against the Ukrainian nation, and it feels like that,” Heraskevych told Reuters from Kyiv. He suggested the International Olympic Committee and IPC are conducting a campaign against Ukraine.
A limited number of Russian and Belarusian athletes are competing as independent neutrals at the ongoing Winter Games. Their national Olympic committees remain sanctioned by the IOC.
The Sun Malaysia
