{"id":12905,"date":"2026-02-20T15:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12905"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T15:04:49","slug":"ukraine-to-boycott-paralympic-games-ceremony-due-to-russian-participation-winter-olympics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=12905","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine to boycott Paralympic Games ceremony due to Russian participation | Winter Olympics News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>The International Paralympic Committee has allocated 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 20 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">20 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Ukrainian competitors will boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony on March 6 in Verona, their committee has said, due to the authorisation of some Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part undertheir national flags. <\/p>\n<p>The International Paralympic Committee (IPC)\u2019s allocation of 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes has \u2060created a political storm over the upcoming Games, given bitterness over the four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Russia, which has been excluded from much international competition due to the war, says it is wrong to mix sport and politics, while targeting disabled athletes is offensive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe community of Ukrainian Paralympians and the \u200cNational Paralympic Committee of Ukraine are outraged by the cynical decision of the International Paralympic Committee to grant bipartite slots to russia and belarus (sic),\u201d the Ukrainian committee said in a statement on Friday, announcing its boycott of the ceremony and demanding that its flag not be used there.<\/p>\n<p>That stance follows the disqualification from the Winter Games of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for wearing a helmet commemorating athletes killed in the war.<\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi has said Ukrainian officials will boycott \u2060the March 6-15 Paralympics, though the nation\u2019s athletes will still take part.<\/p>\n<p>An IPC spokesperson told the Reuters news agency it was in contact with Ukraine\u2019s Paralympic Committee and the matter would be discussed internally.<\/p>\n<p>Russia will have two spots in \u2060Para alpine skiing, two in cross-country skiing and two in snowboarding, while Belarus was awarded four places, all in cross-country skiing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe draw attention \u2060to the fact that neither russia nor belarus (sic) went through \u2060the qualification process to obtain licences to participate in the Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina,\u201d the Ukrainian statement added, denouncing the \u201chorrific military aggression on the territory of Ukraine\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In 2014, Ukraine sent only one athlete from a 23-person team to \u200cthe Sochi Paralympics opening ceremony in protest against Russia\u2019s seizure of the Crimean Peninsula.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very offensive from the IPC to let people who support this war be part of the Games \u200cand \u200calso to let them carry their flag, because under the same flag they are killing Ukrainians,\u201d skeleton competitor Heraskevych told Reuters, saying protests were necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Paralympic Committee has allocated 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 20 Feb 202620 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Ukrainian competitors will boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony on March 6 in Verona, their committee has said, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}