International

Belarusian athletes carried the Russian flag during the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games to express solidarity with the Russian team, which was banned from the event. The protest went ahead despite a threat of sanctions from officials.

The action took place during the parade of athletes on Wednesday. The flag appeared in response to the IPC’s decision to ban all Russian athletes from the Games, after the body cited the country's failure to comply with anti-doping rules.

The IPC, which confiscated the flag after the protest, is reportedly considering if further steps should be taken against Belarus.

Russia’s ban from the Paralympic Games came after a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which cited the widespread use of performance enhancing substances by Russian competitors.