The Winter Paralympics celebrate its 50th anniversary at Milan Cortina, where Ukraine is expected to boycott the opening ceremony as the Russian flag and national anthem make a return to the global sports stage.

Ukraine said Wednesday that its officials will not attend the Winter Paralympics next month over the decision by organizers to allow a handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their

IPC president Andrew Parsons urges Ukrainian athletes not to boycott the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in protest at Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete under their national flags.

Olympic skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych has returned home to Ukraine and shared plans to raise funds for the families of the athletes and coaches depicted on the helmet that got him disqualified from the Milan Cortina Games.

Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina for wearing a memorial helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes and coaches killed since the Russian invasion

Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych will not competeafter refusing a last-minute plea from the IOC to use a helmet other than the one that honors more than 20 of his country's athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia.

MILAN (AP) — Anastasia Kucherova, a Russian living in Milan, voiced her opposition to Russia’s war against Ukraine with a highly symbolic, if at first anonymous, act: Carrying the Ukraine team placard during the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

The Ukrainian skeleton racer who was disqualified from the Milan Cortina Olympics was given a gift of more than $200,000 on Tuesday to help him keep competing and advocating for his country.

Skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych late on Monday said he had returned to Ukraine after being excluded from the Olympic competitions. In a video posted on X, the 27-year-old appeared to record himself in darkness in central Kiev.

While "AIN" may appear as a country code at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, it doesn't actually represent a nation at all.

The International Olympic Committee said that the helmet wouldn’t be allowed in competition, citing a rule against making political statements