IPC bars Ukrainian team from wearing uniform featuring map of Ukraine at Winter Paralympics
The International Paralympic Committee barred Ukraine’s Paralympic team from wearing their ceremonial uniform for the upcoming Winter Games, saying the design featuring a map of Ukraine was political, according to National Paralympic Committee President Valerii Sushkevych.
The main design feature was a map of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including all temporarily occupied territories.
“The International Paralympic Committee said: ‘No, no, no – this will not do!’ They claimed the kit was political,” Sushkevych said in an interview with Ukrinform on March 2.
Sushkevych described the uniform as beautiful and symbolic, adding that it “very clearly shouted that Ukraine exists in the world and in Europe with all its territories, without Russian occupation.”
The uniform was designed by Ukrainian fashion designer Viktor Anisimov, who also created the Ukrainian team’s 2024 summer Paralympics uniforms.
The Winter Paralympic Games will take place in Milan from March 5 to 16, with Ukraine represented by 35 participants competing in four sports.
Six athletes from Russia and four from Belarus will compete under their national flags at the upcoming games, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed in a statement to multiple media outlets on Feb. 17.
It will mark the first time the Russian flag has flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 Games in Sochi.
