Many top Russian athletes are expected to compete for medals, including the Nordic skiers Nikolay Polukhin and Ekaterina Rumyantseva, who have each won three gold medals at previous Paralympics. Alexey Bugaev, an Alpine skier, and the 17-member Russian sled hockey team, led by its goalie and captain Andrey Kasatkin, are also strong contenders to win medals.
Russia-Ukraine War: Key Things to Know
Card 1 of 4Civilians under fire. Russian forces targeted Ukrainian cities with increasingly powerful weapons on the sixth day of the invasion, inflicting a heavy toll on civilians. Explosions shook Kyiv and Kharkiv, while Russian troops moved to capture Mariupol in the south, a critical port city.
American airspace ban. President Biden announced that the U.S. will ban Russian aircraft from flying through American airspace. The ban follows similar moves by the E.U. and Canada to shut airspace to passenger flights from Russia and to planes used by Russian oligarchs.
Russian convoy. Satellite images show a Russian military convoy stretching 40 miles long on a roadway north of Kyiv, with a number of homes and buildings seen burning nearby. Experts fear the convoy could be used to encircle and cut off the capital or to launch a full-on assault.
Migration wave. At least 660,000 people, most of them women and children, have fled Ukraine for neighboring countries, according to the U.N. refugee agency. It’s the most intense wave of European migration since at least the 1990s.
Some, like Bugaev, who was on the slopes Wednesday in nearby Yanqing, have already begun training.
Meanwhile, a delegation of 20 Ukrainian athletes arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, the I.P.C. said. In an open letter, they had called for the Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes to be expelled from the Paralympics. Ukraine’s team is dominated by biathletes and cross-country skiers, sports where they can expect to face off against Russians in almost every event.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supported by Belarus, is a clear breach of the Olympic and Paralympic Charters — a breach that must be met with strong sanctions,” the statement, which was published in Global Athlete, said. “If the I.O.C. and I.P.C. refuse to take swift action, you are clearly emboldening [this] violation of international law and your own Charters.
“Your lack of action will send a message to every athlete and the world that you have chosen Russia and Belarus over athlete interests. Your legacy will be defined by your actions.”
The I.P.C. also announced that no events would be held in Russia or Belarus until further notice.
Tariq Panja contributed reporting from London.