Ukraine’s Winter Paralympic team yet to reach Beijing as question mark hangs over Russian athletes

With the Winter Paralympic Games opening at the end of the week, none of the 20 athletes from the Ukrainian team have arrived in Beijing.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence, in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, said he was hopeful the athletes would arrive in China for Friday’s opening ceremony despite difficult logistics.

He declined to disclose the team’s whereabouts, citing safety concerns and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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“We’re in regular dialogue with Ukraine about their participation at the Games, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to get them here,” Spence said.

He added there were no flights out of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. In addition, flights entering China for the Paralympics -- as well as for the just-closed Olympics -- can originate only from a few designated hub airports.

He said some of Russia’s 71 athletes had arrived, but he did not exactly know how many.

About 650 athletes from 49 delegations, including Ukraine, are expected for the Paralympics, which open Friday and close on March 13.

The Beijing Winter Olympics drew 2,900 athletes from 91 delegations and closed on February 20.

Athletes from Ukraine and elsewhere have sent an open letter to Olympic and Paralympic leaders, asking them to suspend the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

Spence said the IPC board -- which has no Russian or Ukrainian members -- would meet Wednesday to tackle that and other questions. As of now, Russian athletes are expected to compete.

They will not represent Russia, but instead the Russian Paralympic Committee.

Russian athletes in the Winter Olympics