Kyiv slams Ukrainian athletes' mistreatment at Winter Paralympics as 'disgrace'
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Ukraine, on March 11, denounced the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for the mistreatment of Ukrainian athletes and fans at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, calling the organization's conduct a "disgrace."
"The International Paralympic Committee not only allowed blood-stained Russian and Belarusian flags, but tries to ban Ukrainian flags and even yellow and blue colours," a co-statement by the Foreign Ministry and Youth and Sports Ministry reads.
"We condemn in the strongest terms the IPC's utter disregard for our country and athletes. The Committee's choice to openly side with Russia in its genocidal war against Ukraine is immoral and runs against all principles of the Olympian movement and norms of humanity. Future generations will call their actions by their name: a disgrace."
The statement comes after Ukraine's National Paralympic Committee reported on March 11 that the Ukrainian national Paralympic team, its athletes, and coaches have been subjected to "systematic pressure" from representatives of the IPC and the Games' organizing committee.
Among the incidents cited was the removal of Ukraine's national flag from the building where the team was staying. According to the committee, a representative of the organizing committee forcibly removed the flag, even though the team had displayed it without objection at previous Paralympic Games.
One athlete, Oleksandra Kononova, encountered resistance when an International Paralympic Committee representative "aggressively" attempted to confiscate earrings bearing the Ukrainian flag and the words "stop war," according to the statement.
This year's Winter Paralympic Games saw the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their national flags, despite an initial ban that came after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine.
During the Olympic Games, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych was also banned from continuing in the sporting competition after he refused to remove a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes killed in Russia's war.
