Ukrainian team claim athletes have been mistreated
Allege they had to remove flag from Paralympic village
Team Ukraine have launched a stinging attack on the International Paralympic Committee and Winter Paralympics organisers, claiming they have been under “systemic pressure” to reduce their presence at the Games.
The Ukraine National Paralympic Committee has made four specific allegations against the IPC and the Milano Cortina OCOG, alleging mistreatment of its athletes and a “systematic” attempt to remove flags from the team base and spectators.
It alleges that representatives of the OCOG forced the removal of the Ukrainian national flag from inside the Paralympic village. It claims that the gold medallist in the para biathlon, Oleksandra Kononova, was told to remove earrings bearing the flag and the message “Stop War” as she prepared to take to the medal podium. It also claims that the family of the cross-country skier Taras Rad had Ukrainian flags taken from them as they watched him compete. Finally, it alleges that tactical meetings have been consistently disrupted by members of the IPC and OCOG.
