Sporting events are often used to make political statements, and the Winter Paralympics in Sochi have already proved to be a strong platform for Ukraine’s athletes.
Competing despite Russia’s ongoing intervention in Crimea, the Ukrainian team sent a single athlete out to represent the country in Friday’s Opening Ceremonies, a silent protest that nevertheless spoke volumes.
Then, Ukraine’s first medalist, biathlete Olena Iurkovska, dedicated her bronze medal to the unsettled country:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
I devote my first medal in Sochi to an independent Ukraine. Every time I race, it will be for Ukrainian independence and peace in my country. [Al Jazeera America]
The Games have begun, but Ukraine’s athletes aren’t playing around.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs saySpeed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?
Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign port
Speed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'
Speed Read
-
The US will soon finish destroying its last chemical weapons
Speed Read
-
Putin and Prigozhin offer rival explanations for Wagner's brief rebellion
Speed Read
-
The future of the Wagner Group is murky
Speed Read
-
Wagner Group stops armed rebellion toward Moscow
Speed Read
