Admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes under national flags to the Paralympics is ourageous

Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidny said that the decision of the organizers of the Paralympic Games to allow athletes and paraathletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags is "disappointing and outrageous."

"The flags of Russia and Belarus cannot be at international sports competitions that foster justice, honesty and respect. These are the flags of regimes that have turned sport into an instrument of war, lies and contempt. In Russia, Paralympic sports have been made a support for those whom Putin sent to Ukraine to kill - and they returned from Ukraine with disabilities," reads a message posted on the social network Facebook on Wednesday.

Bidny stressed that it was because of such activities that Ukraine imposed sanctions on propagandists in sports, the Russian Paralympic Committee and its head Pavel Rozhkov.

The minister also noted: "Giving them a platform means giving the floor to war propaganda. When the Russian flag is raised on the international stage, it becomes part of Russian propaganda. This is a signal to the world that war is "normal". No, it is not normal".

He called on international organizers to reconsider their decision: "If there is a will to protect justice in Paralympic sports, then it is not too late to come to your senses and ban the state symbols of murderers from international competitions. Show courage - do not let the Russians use you to "normalize" war".

Bedny added that Ukraine will continue its work on all international platforms, defend the values of open societies and fight against Russia’s attempts to politicize sports.