Ukrainian athletes hail Winter Paralympics ‘miracle’ ahead of opening ceremony

Having braved bombs and gunfire, Ukraine’s athletes have made it safely to Beijing ahead of the Winter Paralympics, with their leader Valerii Sushkevych describing their arrival as a miracle.

Ukraine has been under siege following an invasion by Russia, which prompted the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Thursday to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Games after earlier allowing them to compete as neutrals.

Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion.

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“Not coming here would have been taking the easy option,” Mr Sushkevych told reporters on Thursday.

“Our presence at the Paralympics is not merely a presence, this is a sign that Ukraine is and will remain a country,” the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee president said.

The enormous challenge to get to Beijing meant that Mr Sushkevych, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, had to sleep on the floor of a bus for two days, while other members of the delegation escaped missiles to get out of the country.

“More than four days and four nights, we (took to) come here,” he added.

“It’s a miracle that we’re here ... A part of our team was already abroad. A part of our team was in Ukraine. All the necessary equipment was in Ukraine ... We had to unite all those parts,” he said on the eve of Friday’s opening ceremony.

“It is 25 years [that I have been] president of the national Paralympic Committee of the Ukraine and never was it so difficult, so heavy to come to the Paralympic Games.”

Ukraine has been a formidable presence at the Winter Games in the past, bagging 22 medals including seven golds in Pyeongchang four years ago.

The country’s 20-strong contingent,