The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called for a boycott of the Paralympics

On February 18, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga issued a call to boycott the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy. The corresponding statement was published by the head of the Foreign Ministry on his page on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

The reason for Kiev's protest was the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the upcoming competitions in full status. According to the committee's decision, athletes from Russia and Belarus will be able to perform under their national flags, and in case of their victories, the national anthem will be played.

"I have instructed the ambassadors of Ukraine to contact officials in the host countries and urge them not to attend the opening ceremony unless this decision is reversed," Sibiga wrote.

Sibiga expressed his categorical disagreement with the return of the national symbols of the two countries to the international sports arena.

Impassable barrier: why Russia won't be at the 2026 Paralympics after all

The position of the international federations did not allow our athletes to participate in the selection

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the call by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to harass athletes with Russian roots competing at the 2026 Olympic Games neo-Nazism. She added that Russia has repeatedly stated the neo-Nazi nature of the Ukrainian regime, but what Zelensky has done now is calling on countries to literally exclude athletes of Russian or Russian origin from the Olympic Games.

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