16 countries and the EU are boycotting the Paralympic opening ceremony. All because of the admission of Russians and Belarusians under their flags

Australia and France have joined the boycott of the opening of the Paralympic Games due to the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes there under the flags of their countries.

This was reported by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha.

Thus, the opening of this yearʼs Paralympics is already boycotted by 16 countries. Among them are Ukraine, Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Croatia, Austria, Romania, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. European Union officials will also boycott the ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the XIV Winter Paralympics will take place today, March 6. The competitions will last until March 15. These will be the first games since 2014 where Russian athletes will compete under their flag.

What preceded

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.

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.

However, 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 reported that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes had been invited to the Games and would be allowed to 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, when it was banned due to the countryʼs state-sponsored doping program and then Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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