The National Paralympic Committee of the Netherlands has officially announced that it plans to boycott the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympics due to the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the competitions under their flags. Thus, the Netherlands decided to support Ukraine.
Points of attention
- IPC Chairman Andrew Parsons maintains his decision on allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, despite boycotts by Ukraine and its allies.
- The Netherlands' boycott highlights the ongoing controversy over the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes under their own flags, creating diplomatic tensions in the upcoming Paralympic Games in Italy.
The Netherlands once again defends Ukraine's interests
What is important to understand is that the Netherlands has become the sixth country to show solidarity with the Ukrainian national team.
Earlier, the decision to boycott the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympics together with Ukraine was announced by 5 allies of Kyiv: the Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia.
The Dutch Paralympic Committee has publicly expressed regret that Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete under their own flags at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Italy.
This means that the national symbols of both countries will be visible at official events such as the opening ceremony and award ceremonies. It was hoped that this could be prevented through diplomatic pressure, but this proved impossible, the official statement of the Dutch National Olympic Committee said.
As previously mentioned, six Russian and four Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete under national flags at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.
IPC Chairman Andrew Parsons cynically claims that boycotts of Ukraine and its allies will not change his decision on this matter.
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