BEIJING, March 2. /TASS/. Russian para athletes with mobility disabilities have arrived in the Chinese capital of Beijing to participate in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Paralympians who were delayed in Italy due to the closure of the European Union’s airspace to Russian aircraft arrived via Istanbul.

On Monday, Russia shut its airspace to 36 countries in retaliation to their move to close their airspace to Russian aircraft. On February 27, the foreign ministers of 27 EU member states endorsed the move to fully close the European Union’s airspace to Russian planes.

The Beijing Paralympic Games will be held on March 4-13. As many as 78 medal sets will be up for grabs.