--- title: Ukraine Athletes: Paralympics ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned description: Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from the competition in a stunning reversal canonical: https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-03-03T12:48:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:43.787Z article:section: Sports og:title: Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned og:description: Ukrainian Paralympians vowed to make the Beijing Games another “front line” after Russian athletes were banned og:url: https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d5758f33c78d37e/698a2f9adb298720f4267921/GettyImages-1238893622.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Valerii Sushkevych og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned twitter:description: Ukrainian Paralympians vowed to make the Beijing Games another “front line” after Russian athletes were banned twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d5758f33c78d37e/698a2f9adb298720f4267921/GettyImages-1238893622.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: 1 Million People Have Fled Ukraine Since Russian Invasion, U.N. Says [Watch (HLS stream): 1 Million People Have Fled Ukraine Since Russian Invasion, U.N. Says](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8yQi4YmJ.m3u8) (1:57)  _Published 2022-03-03. The U.N. refugee agency said Thursday that 1 million people have now fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion less than a week ago, an exodus without precedent in this century for its speed._ by [Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Bloomberg Contributor Mar 3, 2022 12:48 PM UTC  Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, speaks to the media during a press conference ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing on March 3, 2022. Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, speaks to the media during a press conference ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing on March 3, 2022.STR/AFP—Getty Images by [Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Bloomberg Contributor Mar 3, 2022 12:48 PM UTC Ukrainian Paralympians vowed to make the Beijing Games another “front line” in their country’s fight for freedom, after Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from the competition in a stunning reversal. “There is one front line for our battle, our warriors,” Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee, said at press conference in Beijing on Thursday. “And the second front line is here, in Beijing.” “We could have given up and not come to Beijing. This was the situation. Bombs were exploding, missiles were exploding,” he added. “Everyone understood that if Ukraine was not present at the Paralympics Games, there’s no existence of Ukraine.” Officials earlier in the day reversed a controversial decision to let Russia and Belarus participate in the Beijing Paralympics after “multiple” athletes threatened a boycott that could have halted the games, the International Paralympic Committee said in a statement. The “situation” in the athlete villages was escalating and ensuring the safety of athletes had become “untenable,” it added. That about-face came less than a day after the IPC [said](https://www.paralympic.org/press-release/ipc-makes-decisions-regarding-rpc-and-npc-belarus) it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutral athletes with colors, flags and other national symbols removed when events open Friday. While Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine came days after a Winter Games that China wanted to be “splendid and simple,” it has now given Beijing a difficult decision with the Paralympics. China had [warned](https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3163950/winter-olympics-chinese-official-says-those-who-speak-out-sensitive) athletes before the Games that speaking out on sensitive issues came with consequences, suggesting the Communist Party would take a restrictive interpretation of the Olympic Charter. The [document](https://stillmedab.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/General/EN-Olympic-Charter.pdf#%5Fga=2.201997329.143367809.1618221951-1005385768.1610703980) says “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony Friday in Beijing in a much different situation than when he and Putin declared their partnership had “no limits” ahead of the Winter Games. China has struggled to respond to the military action by its close diplomatic partner Russia, providing support to Putin at the United Nations while also upholding the Ukraine’s sovereignty rights. The IPC’s decision came a day after the UN voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week. “At the IPC we are very firm believers that sport and politics should not mix,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in the statement. “However, by no fault of its own the war has now come to these games and behind the scenes many governments are having an influence on our cherished event.” — With assistance from Isabella Steger and Jenni Marsh. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/"},"headline":"Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned","datePublished":"2022-03-03T12:48:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:51:43.787Z","description":"Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from the competition in a stunning reversal","url":"https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/","keywords":["olympics","Ukraine","russia","Belarus","wire","Londontime","biztech2030","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d5758f33c78d37e/698a2f9adb298720f4267921/GettyImages-1238893622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Bloomberg","jobTitle":"Contributor","url":"https://time.com/author/bloomberg/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1d5758f33c78d37e/698a2f9adb298720f4267921/GettyImages-1238893622.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Valerii Sushkevych","caption":"Valerii Sushkevych","creditText":"STR/AFP—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/olympics/","name":"olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6154304/ukraine-paralympics-russia-banned/","name":"Ukraine Athletes Say Beijing Games ‘Front Line’ as Russia Banned"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"1 Million People Have Fled Ukraine Since Russian Invasion, U.N. 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