Sept. 6, 2012 Paralympics - London Great Britain's Sophie Kamlish and Japan's Saki Takakuwa after a race in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.
Not even a feel good event like the Paralympics can bridge the widening chasm between Russia and the West. British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Sunday that U.K. ministers would steer clear of the event so long as the host country, Russia, was mobilizing thousands of troops across Ukraine.
“Because of the serious situation in Ukraine,” the tweet read, “@WilliamJHague & I believe it would be wrong for UK Ministers to attend the Sochi Paralympics.”
The New York Times reports that Prince Edward, a patron of the British Paralympic Association, has accordingly canceled a planned visit to Russia “on the advice of the government.”