The Ukrainian Paralympic delegation decided to boycott the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Games on March 6 in Verona, in protest against the decision of the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag. The anger is not limited to Ukraine, as the Italian government expressed its rejection, and European Union Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef announced that he would boycott the opening ceremony.
Published on: 02/20/2026 - 12:08
Ukrainian Paralympic athletes will boycott the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Games on March 6 in Verona, in protest against the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag, the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee announced.
“The Ukrainian Paralympic Team and the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee will boycott the opening ceremony of the 14th Winter Paralympic Games, and demand that the Ukrainian flag not be used during the opening ceremony,” the committee said in a statement issued Thursday.
This step comes after the decision of Ukrainian government officials who announced on Wednesday that they would boycott the March 6 ceremony in Verona.
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Ukrainian Sports Minister Matvey Bedny described the decision as "disgraceful," accusing Russia and Belarus of turning "sport into an instrument of war, lies and contempt."
Italian refusal and boycott from the European Union Commissioner
The anger is not limited to Ukraine, as the Italian government expressed its rejection, and European Union Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef announced that he would boycott the opening ceremony.
The decision angered Ukrainians after the International Paralympic Committee allowed six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to participate under the flags of the two countries in the Milan-Cortina Paralympic Games, instead of participating as neutral athletes.
But the exclusion of a complete boycott by the team was previously confirmed. The head of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, Valery Sushkevich, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian athletes would not completely boycott the games.
Ukraine is one of the most prominent countries performing at the Winter Paralympics, as it came second in the medal table four years ago in Beijing.
Both Russia and Belarus were banned from participating in the 2022 Paralympics following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and were then returned to participate in the 2024 Paris Paralympics as neutral athletes.
France 24/AFP
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