{"id":176246,"date":"2026-02-18T19:04:58","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T16:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176246\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"ukrainian-officials-to-boycott-paralympic-games-after-belarus-russia-allowed-to-display-national-flags","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/176246\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian officials to boycott Paralympic Games after Belarus, Russia allowed to display national flags"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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February 18, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Ukrainian officials will boycott the Winter Paralympic Games in Italy in protest against the organizers\u2019 decision to allow Belarusians and Russians to compete under national flags, Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi said on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will not be present at the opening ceremony. We will not take part in any other official event of the Paralympic Games. We thank every official of the free world who does the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian athletes will take part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussia takes advantage of vulnerabilities of open societies and international organizations to normalize its crimes,\u201d he stressed in a reference to the Russian war against Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described Belarusian and Russian flags as \u201cthe flags of regimes that turned sport into a tool of war, lies and contempt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also denounced the International Paralympic Committee\u2019s decision, describing it as a moral and political blunder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glenn Micallef, the EU commissioner for sport, refused to attend the opening ceremony of the games in protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Bra\u017ee urged the committee to revise its decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four athletes are expected to represent Belarus at the Paralympic Games in March, participating in cross-country skiing competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belarus and Russia did not participate in the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing as Moscow launched a full-scale war on Ukraine with Minsk\u2019s support earlier that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eight Belarusian swimmers were allowed to compete as neutrals in the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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