Ukrainian delegation not to attend Paralympics due to participation of Russians and Belarusians

According to Ukrinform, this was announced on Facebook by Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports Matvii Bidnyi.

“In response to the outrageous decision by the organizers of the Paralympic Games to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flags, Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Games,” Bidnyi said.

According to him, Ukrainian officials will also not attend the opening ceremony or other official Paralympic events.

“We thank every government official in the free world who will also ignore the official Paralympic events. We continue the fight,” the minister added.

As reported by Ukrinform, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milano Cortina under their national flags.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha instructed Ukrainian ambassadors to urge government officials in their host countries not to participate in the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games unless the permission to raise the flags of the aggressor states is revoked.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reacting to the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the 2026 Paralympic Games under their national flags, called it “dirty.”