Paralympics Ireland stands united with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the European Paralympic Committee (EPC) in condemning the actions of the Russian government in Ukraine.
We recognise that participation in the Paralympic Games is a matter for the IPC and the IPC Governing Board who are meeting tomorrow, Wednesday 2nd March to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The actions of the Russian military in their attack on Ukraine with the support of their allies in Belarus, and their violation of the Olympic Truce, which is in place until March 20th 2022, are unacceptable.
We call upon the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to strongly consider excluding athletes from Russia and Belarus from the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing and any other international Paralympic events until this situation has been resolved.
The Ukrainian swim team were a popular and successful nation that competed at the World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships in Dublin in 2018. During that time, they conducted themselves with courtesy and utmost professionalism both in and out of the pool. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee at this time.
Paralympics Ireland hopes that a peaceful solution to the situation can be reached, and that sport can be a channel for peace in the future.
