In photos: Paralympics officially begin without Russian athletes
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Flag bearer Maksym Yarovyi of Team Ukraine leads his team out during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics. Photo: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The 2022 Paralympics Winter Games officially got underway in Beijing Friday.
The big picture: The Games — which end March 13 — come against the backdrop of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The International Paralympic Committee this week banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Paralympic Winter Games.
- The International Olympic Committee has "strongly condemned" Russia for violating the Olympic Truce when it attacked Ukraine.
- The truce, a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly last year, began seven days before the start of the Beijing Olympics and ends seven days after the closing of the Paralympic Games, which are slated to end March 13.
What they're saying: The president of the International Paralympic Committee said during Friday's opening ceremony that he was "horrified" by the invasion, adding "the 21st century is a time for dialogue and diplomacy, not war and hate."
- "At the IPC, we aspire to a better and more inclusive world, free from discrimination, free from hate, free from ignorance and free from conflict," he added.
What to watch: Three delegations are making their Winter Paralympics debut, Azerbaijan, Israel and Puerto Rico, and three more are back after lengthy absences, Liechtenstein, Estonia and Latvia, Axios' Jeff Tracy reports.
In photos:
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details from the opening ceremony.
