Paralympic Committee returns Russian flag and anthem to Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemns

An outrageous decision by the International Paralympic Committee, Chornomorets' sensational elimination from the Ukrainian Cup, and hockey in Odesa. Read more about this in the digest of sports events from Intent.

Olympic Games. Is Russia coming back?

The IPC Assembly in Seoul. PHOTO: IPC

• On Saturday, at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) General Assembly in Seoul, member organizations voted not to extend the partial suspension of the National Paralympic Committees of Belarus and Russia. Thus, at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy, the Russian national team will be able to compete under its own flag and anthem as if nothing had happened.
• As a reminder, Ukraine has a resolution that prohibits national teams from competing in tournaments where teams from Russia and/or Belarus are represented. Because of this, for example, the judo team boycotted the World Cup, and the beach soccer team "gave" Euroleague bronze medals to Belarusians by boycotting the third-place match.

Milan and Cortina are the host cities for the 2026 Winter Paralympics. PHOTO: IPC

• The UkrainianForeign Ministry and the Ministry of Sports called on Italy to prevent the appearance of Russian flags during the competition and condemned the IPC's decision. Ukraine is not yet talking about boycotting the games, although Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi does not rule out this possibility.

Football. "Chornomorets drops out of the Cup and wins the league

The match between Agrotech and Chornomorets. PHOTO: FC Chornomorets

• "This week, Chornomorets sensationally stopped competing in the Ukrainian Cup at the 1/16 finals. " Agrotech from the village of Tyshkivka was probably not perceived as a serious opponent by the Odesa team, so Oleksandr Kucher left several of the first-team players out of the application for the game. However, the amateurs showed quality football and kept the score for most of the game. Only at the end of the match, Luifer Hernandez equalized the score from the penalty spot and turned the game into a series of 11-meter penalties. "Agrotech scored all the penalties, and Luifer failed to repeat his achievement from the main time: his shot was pulled out by the Tyshkiv goalkeeper. "Agrotech became the first amateur team in history to reach the last 16 of the Cup.

• Later in the week, the Sailors narrowly defeated Agribusiness at home in a league match. Vladyslav Gerich scored the winner . After 9 rounds in the First League, Odesa confidently holds the lead.

The match between Metalist 1925 and Seasters. PHOTO: FC "Metalist 1925"

"Seasters suffered an away defeat to Ukrainian vice-champions Metalist 1925 in a Major League match. In the next match, the Odesa team defeated Panthers Uman and continue to sit in third place in the championship.

Games and results

<span> </span>Marta Kostiuk. PHOTO: IMAGO

• <b>Marta Kostiuk</b> remained the only representative of Ukraine at the<b> WTA 1000</b> tournament<b> in Beijing. Diana Yastremska</b> lost in the second round<b>, and Yulia Starodubtseva</b>, who had her first success at a major tournament here last year, lost in the first round.

HC Kremenchuk are the winners of the Ukrainian Cup 2025. PHOTO: FHU

• The Ukrainian Ice Hockey Cup took place inthe Odesa Sports Palace, which was attacked by a Russian kamikaze drone a few weeks ago. It was played by the favorites of the competition Sokil and Kremenchuk (which became the new winner of the cup), and the debutants of the competition from Odesa Region took third place, beating Kherson Dnipro.

Events of the week

Kateryna Sadurska. PHOTO: Luke Coley

• <b>Kateryna Sadurska </b>became the world champion twice in one week. According to AIDA, the freediver from Mykolaiv won the constant weight dive without fins (75 meters) and the constant weight dive with bilastics (97 meters, a new Ukrainian record).

Screenshot: HC "STORM-ODESA"/Telegram

• Odesa Storm has decided on its home venue for the 2025/26 season. The Odesa team, which did not play in the Ukrainian Cup, will host the next championship in Vinnytsia.

Traditionally, we wish you and your favorite athletes and teams good luck!

Адлен Муатс