EU boycotts Paralympics opening ceremony over Russia’s return
Across various sporting events, athletes from Russia and Belarus have had to compete as neutrals since the invasion of Ukraine.
BRUSSELS — The EU’s sports commissioner won’t be going to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics over a decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to fly their national flags.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted places to 10 athletes from the two countries in next month’s Winter Games and they will be “treated like [those from] any other country,” the IPC told the AFP news agency.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus were banned from Paralympic competition after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A partial ban — allowing athletes to compete but only as neutrals — was introduced in 2023.
Glenn Micallef, the EU’s sports commissioner, described the decision to allow the athletes to fly the Russian and Belarusian flags as “unacceptable.”
In a post on X, Micallef said: “While Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, I cannot support the reinstatement of national symbols, flags, anthems and uniforms, that are inseparable from that conflict.” He added that he would not be attending the opening ceremony and encouraged “likeminded counterparts” to do the same.
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi said on X that the IPC’s move was “disappointing and outrageous.”
