Suspilne will not broadcast the opening of the 2026 Paralympics due to the participation of Russians and Belarusians

Suspilne will not broadcast the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games.

The broadcaster itself reported this.

The broadcaster made this decision after the Ukrainian national team announced a boycott of the opening ceremony due to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under their symbols. Suspilne will show the competitions themselves.

A few days earlier, the Estonian public broadcaster ERR made a similar decision.

What preceded

In September 2025, the International Paralympic Committee lifted its ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus from the Games. However, the four international federations responsible for all six sports at the Winter Paralympics have decided to maintain their restrictions.

But in December, Russia and Belarus won an appeal against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, allowing their athletes to compete and earn ranking points.

On February 18, it was announced that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes had been invited to the Games and would compete under their respective national flags. This would be the first time that the Russian flag had flown at a Paralympic Games since Sochi 2014 — first because of the countryʼs state-sponsored doping program and then because of Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

• Russia and Belarus were suspended from the Paralympic Games after Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine in 2022. A partial ban was introduced in 2023, allowing athletes to compete in neutral status.

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