Valerii Sushkevych, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, has reported that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) banned Ukrainian athletes from wearing a kit featuring a map of Ukraine at the 2026 Winter Paralympics.
Considering they allow russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags, I see no reason why they should forbid anyone from expressing their national identity. If the map of Ukraine is somehow a point of contention for some other team, maybe that team should not compete
The problem is that the map features a contested border.
It would be like Pakistan or India showing up wearing a map of their countries which show they annexed all of Jammu & Kashmir. It isn’t just an expression of national identity at that point.
I can contest your right to keep all the parts of your body but it doesn’t mean my violent shitposting should accepted by the mewling and servile population of people that confuse rational tones with rationality.
Considering they allow russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags, I see no reason why they should forbid anyone from expressing their national identity. If the map of Ukraine is somehow a point of contention for some other team, maybe that team should not compete
The problem is that the map features a contested border.
It would be like Pakistan or India showing up wearing a map of their countries which show they annexed all of Jammu & Kashmir. It isn’t just an expression of national identity at that point.
Contested? I believe the world overwhelmingly recognizes the real borders of Ukraine as depicted on that map.
The real controversial move would be to show up with a 1919 map of Ukraine:
I can contest your right to keep all the parts of your body but it doesn’t mean my violent shitposting should accepted by the mewling and servile population of people that confuse rational tones with rationality.
Welcome to international diplomacy…