Ukraine Kicks Off Invictus Games With a Win and a Standing Ovation

The Ukrainian wheelchair basketball team will next face Afghanistan in Group C in the Games. Ukrainian athletes will compete in 11 sports in the competition, including swimming, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, basketball, and wheelchair rugby.

The Games have introduced a “winter hybrid adaptive program,” Euromaidan reported, featuring alpine skiing, snowboarding, biathlon, cross-country skiing, skeleton, and wheelchair curling. Whistler is a major ski-vacation destination for North Americans, especially.

The outspoken British prince’s creation has not been without a controversial political component, the Daily Beast reported, especially his Opening Ceremony speech:

“Senior figures… have criticized the royal for a ‘woke agenda’ and using a speech at the opening of the games to criticize ‘weak moral character in the world,’ remarks which have been generally interpreted as an attack on Donald Trump,” the Daily Beast wrote on Monday.

“Harry’s speech was met with cheers in the Invictus arena, and many will enthusiastically support his stance. However, the remarks represented a significant departure from standard royal practice. It is normal for members of the royal family to avoid any mention of global affairs, lest they risk being seen to be meddling in politics, let alone the political choices of a specific country.”

Other Topics of Interest

Hungary Says It Has Deal With Ukraine on Minority Rights, Ties It to EU Accession Talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced that Hungary and Ukraine have reached a “comprehensive agreement” to broaden language, cultural, educational and political rights for roughly 100,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region, following several weeks of expert-level talks. Kyiv has pledged to write the agreed measures into Ukrainian law, reflecting them in the EU accession action plan. Budapest indicated it would support opening the first negotiating cluster for Ukraine.