Ukrainian competitors are set to boycott the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Paralympics on March 6 in Verona, their national committee said on Friday, in protest against the authorisation of some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.
The decision follows the International Paralympic Committee’s allocation of 10 combined slots to athletes from Russia and Belarus, a move that has sparked political controversy amid the four-year-old invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Announcing the boycott, the Ukrainian committee said in a statement: “The community of Ukrainian Paralympians and the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine are outraged by the cynical decision of the International Paralympic Committee to grant bipartite slots to russia and belarus (sic).”
The committee also demanded that Ukraine’s flag should not be used during the ceremony.
Russia, which has been excluded from much international competition due to the war, has said it is wrong to mix sport and politics and that targeting disabled athletes is offensive.
The Ukrainian stance comes after the disqualification of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych from the Winter Games 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, although the country’s athletes will still participate in the competition.
An IPC spokesperson told Reuters that the body was in direct contact with Ukraine’s Paralympic Committee and that the matter would be discussed internally.
Under the allocation, Russia will have two spots in Para alpine skiing, two in cross-country skiing and two in snowboarding, while Belarus has been awarded four places, all in cross-country skiing.
In the same statement, Ukraine added: “We draw attention to the fact that neither russia nor belarus (sic) went through the qualification process to obtain licences to participate in the Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina,” and denounced the “horrific military aggression on the territory of Ukraine.”
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