Except for Germany the medal count at the Papalympics is different. Leaders in the Olympics aren't necessary achieving this year.

By Alyssa Newcomb
@AlyssaNewcomb

Mar 7, 2014 1:21pm

 

Ukraine (click here) has 23 athletes participating in the Paralympics, but only the flag bearer showed up to participate in the opening ceremony today in Sochi, Russia, where president Vladimir Putin was in attendance.

 Biathlete Mykhaylo Tkachenko was met with roaring applause from the crowd, but  remained stoic as he participated in the parade of nations.

Ukraine’s decision to send just their flag bearer to the ceremony was an apparent protest of Russia’s decision to send troops to Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

Ukrainian Paralympic Committee President Valeriy Suskevich said earlier this week his team would not boycott the games unless the situation between the two countries escalated.

“We are raising our flag for peace,” Suskevich told the BBC. “The athletes have a right to have the Paralympic Games under peaceful conditions.

Athletes and officials of United States enter the arena during attend the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics at the Fisht Olympic stadium in Sochi, Russia, Friday, March 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)