After the war, into competition: former Russian military personnel want to join the Paralympic Games
Фото: REUTERS/Claudia Greco/File Photo
On the eve, several Russian athletes were allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games, which will be held next month in Italy.
This was announced by the President of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Pavel Rozhkov.
Six Russians received bilateral invitations. In particular, they will participate in competitions in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and para-snowboarding.
“As for other sports, in biathlon we are not yet allowed to participate in international competitions and could not count on bilateral invitations. In sledge hockey and wheelchair curling, there are no such invitations, we were not allowed to qualify,” Rozhkov noted.
He added that the PKR has sent a list of 16 candidates to receive bilateral invitations.
According to Ukrainian skeletonist Vladislav Geraskevych, among the representatives of the Russian Federation there are former military personnel who fought against Ukraine.
“So yesterday they were killing Ukrainians in Ukraine, and tomorrow they will continue to do so, spreading Russian propaganda internationally,” the athlete said on his Instagram page.
However, as “Sospilne” found out , among the six Russians invited to the Paralympics, there are no former military personnel. However, there are those who support Russian dictator Putin.
At the same time, former servicemen are part of the Russian national athletics and swimming teams.
In addition, the publication identified former Russian soldiers who previously fought against Ukraine and are now seeking to compete. Among them are Ivan Shiryayev, Vladislav Shynkar, Nikolai Bondarenko, Tsyden Geninov, Anton Bushmakin and others. The occupiers fought in various regions of Ukraine, as a result of which they were injured, and later joined Paralympic sports.
It is worth noting separately that, according to “Sospilny”, in addition to the Russians, four representatives of Belarus will perform under their flag.
We will remind you that Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Geraskevych went to training on the Olympic track wearing a “memory helmet” with images of athletes who died during the war with Russia.
Later, the International Olympic Committee banned him from competing in the Olympic Games wearing this helmet , and in the end, Vladislav did not participate in the competition.
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