Two months after the decision to allow Russians and Belarusians to participate in the 2024 Paralympic Games, the president of the Ukrainian Committee presented new elements to request their exclusion from the competition. At the end of September, the members of the International Paralympic Committee, meeting in a general assembly in Manama, rejected the suspension of Russia and Belarus and preferred a partial suspension, paving the way for the “individual” and “neutral” participation of the athletes from these two countries at the 2024 Paralympic Games. In an interview with AFP, the president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee Valeriy Sushkevych affirmed that “the Paralympic Committee and the Russian authorities are actively integrating members of the army, who have killed Ukrainian children, assaulted Ukrainian women and destroyed thousands of villages.” For his part, the president of the Russian Paralympic Committee Pavel Rozhkov announced that former soldiers would be in the delegation, without further details. Valeriy Sushkevych says he is convinced that the Extraordinary General Assembly of the European Paralympic Committees, planned in Latvia before the Games, will be decisive. “Decisions are planned and should encourage the leadership of the IPC to prevent, in accordance with its Constitution, Russia and Belarus from participating in the Paris Paralympic Games, in any capacity whatsoever,” he declares. Contacted by AFP, the Russian Paralympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee did not wish to comment.
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2024 Paralympic Games: Ukraine accuses Russia of including injured soldiers in its delegation
