Ukrainian officials announced a few days ago that the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games in Italy would be boycotted.
Idman.Biz reports that this was announced by the Minister of Sports of Ukraine, Matvi Bidny, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, Andriy Sibiha.
Thus, Ukrainian officials were angered by the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian Paralympians to compete with the flags and anthems of their countries.
A. Sibiha said that Ukrainian ambassadors have been instructed to convince officials of their countries not to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics.
Several Ukrainian media outlets have already reported that Ukraine and some European officials have declared a partial boycott of the opening of the Paralympics.
It is alleged that Ukrainian sports officials, as well as some European colleagues, have declared a partial boycott of the Paralympic Games, which will be held in Milan and Cortina from March 6–15. The decision is related to the position of the International Paralympic Committee regarding Belarusian and Russian athletes.
The fact is that last September, the IPC lifted the ban on the use of state symbols (flag and anthem) imposed on Belarusian and Russian athletes after the start of a large-scale war in Ukraine.