Zelenskyy calls Paralympics' decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flags ‘dirty’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the 2026 Paralympic Games organizers’ decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flags "dirty" and "unjust."

"I can’t say it’s about money, because I don’t know. But it’s a dirty decision that can’t be respected, and it’s not European… I think it’s an absolutely terrible decision, and it’s unjust," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Piers Morgan, an excerpt of which was published on X social media.

The president also compared these actions at the Olympics to a "creeping occupation."

"That’s roughly how Russian aggression developed, a creeping occupation—Crimea, no one responded, then Donbas, no one responded, then a full-scale invasion," he said.

Ukrainian Youth and Sports Minister Matviy Bidny announced that Ukrainian officials will not attend the 2026 Paralympic Games in response to the organizers’ decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flags.

"In response to the Paralympic Games organizers’ outrageous decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flags, Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Games. We will also not attend the opening ceremony or other official Paralympic events," Bidny wrote on Facebook.

Earlier, it became known that the International Paralympic Committee had made a decision according to which several Russian and Belarusian athletes would compete under their own flags at the Paralympic Games, and the national anthem would be played for all gold medalists.