Ukraine will send a full contingent of 20 athletes and nine guides to the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on Tuesday.
The governing body tweeted a picture of the delegation with the message: “Ukraine’s Paralympic Team together earlier today before boarding for #Beijing2022.”
The IPC declined to share the delegation’s whereabouts due to safety concerns.
Ukrainian athletes will compete in two sports at the Beijing Games — biathlon and cross-country skiing.
Ukraine won 22 medals at the PyeongChang Games four years ago, with all seven of their gold medals coming in the aforementioned disciplines.
Meanwhile, a decision on whether to ban Russian athletes from the Games will be made at an IPC board meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
Various international sports organizations have begun imposing sanctions on Russia and its athletes following a recommendation made by the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board on Monday.
Governing bodies have so far either suspended Russian teams from competitions or stripped the country of its right to host events.
Russian athletes are due to compete under the neutral banner of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) following a ban imposed in 2020 for historic state-sponsored doping.
According to the IPC, the majority of the RPC’s 71 athletes set to compete in Beijing will have arrived in the Chinese capital by Tuesday.
The Beijing 2022 Paralympics get underway on Friday with the opening ceremony before official competition begins on Saturday.
