Ukraine’s sports minister announces an official boycott of the Paralympics over Russian and Belarusian participation, while athletes will still compete.
UKRAINE’S sports minister has announced an official boycott of the upcoming Milano Cortina Paralympics in protest against the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Matvii Bidnyi said no Ukrainian officials will attend the opening ceremony or any official Games events, though Ukrainian athletes will still compete.
“In response to the Paralympics organisers’ outrageous decision to let Russians and Belarusians compete under their national flags, Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Games,” Bidnyi stated on social media.
READ MORE: Ukraine condemns Russian Paralympics participation as propaganda
He condemned the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to clear six Russian and four Belarusian para athletes to compete under their national flags.
“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,” the minister added.
The IPC’s move follows a vote by its members in September 2025 to lift the partial suspensions on Russia and Belarus, which were banned after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The comments come amid heightened tensions over Ukraine’s representation at the ongoing Winter Olympics.
Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, disqualified for a helmet depicting athletes killed in the war, criticised organisers for allowing a Russian volunteer to carry a sign ahead of Ukraine’s delegation at the opening ceremony.
“I don’t want to attack anyone personally, but overall this situation with the Paralympic Committee, with the IOC, with the disqualification and with Russian flags, feels like the IOC is doing some campaign against the Ukrainian nation,” Heraskevych told Reuters.
The International Olympic Committee denied any discrimination, stating all decisions were based on the Olympic Charter’s rules limiting expressions on the field of play.
“We asked them for that specific moment, that field of play moment to be free of any messages,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
He added that the organising committee does not closely vet all volunteers, noting a Russian volunteer carrying a sign was not an issue.
Milano Games spokesman Luca Casassa said over 1,200 volunteers worked on the ceremony, making individual vetting impractical.
The Sun Malaysia
