Winter Paralympics: Ukraine's Taras Rad wins silver for nation's first medal in Beijing

Biathlete Taras Rad won silver to give Ukraine their first medal at the Beijing Winter Paralympics.

Rad and the rest of his team-mates travelled to China despite the Russian invasion of their country, which began on 24 February.

The 23-year-old finished 17.5 seconds behind China's Zixu Liu in the men's sprint seated event.

But it was enough to give him his second Paralympic medal after his middle distance gold from Pyeongchang.

Ahead of the Games, Valeriy Sushkevych, the Ukrainian Paralympic chief, said his team's presence at the Games was a «symbol that Ukraine is alive» and that it was a «miracle» they made it to the competition.

They were warmly welcomed into the Bird's Nest Stadium for Friday's opening ceremony.

The Russian Paralympic Committee and Belarus were banned from competing.