Ukraine hits out at Winter Paralympics for lifting ban on Russia | World News

Ukraine says the Paralympics should not have lifted its ban on Russia – disputing its claim it is no longer clear that sport is being used to promote the war.

Only Russians entered as neutrals are allowed at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

But the Paralympics could now see athletes from Russia and war ally Belarus compete under their flag again in Italy in March.

“It’s unjust, and we think it’s not appropriate to give the opportunity to terrorist states to make sportswashing of their crimes,” Ukrainian sports minister Matvii Bidnyi told Sky News.

“We continue to underline it, to remind the International Olympic Committee and other international sports federations that this is more than just some conflict. It’s an existential question.”

Speaking from Kyiv, Mr Bidnyi pointed to Russian athletes being able to use sports facilities in Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

That initial assault on Ukraine happened between the Olympics and Paralympics in the Russian resort of Sochi, and the all-out war on Ukraine was also launched between the two Winter Games when Beijing hosted in 2022.

It led to further and deeper sporting sanctions on Russia, which was already serving punishments for running a state-sponsored doping scheme focused around the 2014 Sochi Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Russia for breaching its charter for incorporating sports entities in occupied areas of Ukraine.

And IOC president Kirsty Coventry has not supported the International Paralympic Committee lifting its ban on Russia after claiming there was less evidence of athletes being used to back the conflict.

Mr Bidnyi said: “How can I look at the Russian flag and shake hands with Russian athletes who support the war or – even not maybe strong support – but are still silent?”

In the last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced sanctions on the Russian Paralympic Committee and its leader for using sport to justify the war and spread anti-Ukrainian narratives.

“We have a lot of evidence this organisation, the Paralympic Committee of Russia, supports the war,” Mr Bidnyi said.

Their position is backed by more than 30 countries, including Britain.

“We opposed Russia and Belarus returning to the fold under their own flag,” ParalympicsGB chef de mission Phil Smith told Sky News.

“We were very vocal about that and have been one of the nations who have really spoken out. So our position is we don’t believe Russia or Belarus should be at the Paralympic Games.”

Share

Advertisement

Sporting moments to look out for in 2026

But who will be competing is still unclear, due to qualification timelines and separate punishments from sports federations.

“We know there is an opportunity for athletes potentially to be handed wild card positions closer to the Games, and if they do so, then they will compete under the Russian flag after the decision of the IPC and the membership to reinstate Russian athletes,” Mr Smith said.

“At the moment, we don’t know whether that will happen or not, but we’re obviously prepared to know that if it does happen, we will be ready and making sure that our athletes are just focusing on their performance and how they represent Paralympics GB at the Games.”

Hundreds of athletes have been killed in the war and facilities destroyed in Russian attacks, including a Winter Games training base for biathlon in Chernihiv that was bombed while the Russian military charged towards Kyiv in 2022 before failing to capture the capital.

The sports minister personally hopes one day Russia will compensate them for the sports facilities left in ruins.

“I would like the war to stop, I want Russia to go out from occupied territory,” Mr Bidnyi said. “And I would like Russia to pay for destroying our cities and infrastructure.”