Australia will not join a boycott of the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony organised in protest against Russia's inclusion at the Games.
Ukraine is among eight countries that will skip the opening ceremony at Verona Arena on Friday after the International Paralympic Committee last week invited 10 Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
Ukrainian athletes can take part in the Paralympics, but the country's sports minister Matvii Bidnyi said its officials will not attend events.
Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands have joined the boycott.
Friday's opening ceremony will be the first time a Russian flag has been flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 Sochi Games, due to the country's state-sponsored doping programme.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, before transitioning to individual neutral athletes at the 2024 Paris Games.
More delegations are likely to miss the opening ceremony after the US launched joint military strikes with Israel on Iran at the weekend, severely disrupted global air travel.
Cross-country skier Abolfazl Khatibi is Iran's sole Paralympian this year, while Alpine skier Sheina Vaspi will be the only Israeli para-athlete.
Paralympics Australia confirmed to AAP the team would march in the opening ceremony and the country's flag bearers would be announced on Thursday.
Australia had last engaged in a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, with then-prime minister Scott Morrison saying the country's officials had skipped the event because of China's treatment of Uyghurs.
But Australia's participation in this year's opening ceremony may still be limited, given the venue's distance from the team's base in the Dolomites.
Unlike this year's Winter Olympics which boasted four opening ceremony venues, the Paralympians spread across northern Italy will have to travel to Verona's ancient Roman stadium before competing the next day.
The Australian team - 12 athletes and two guides - is based in Cortina and Tesero and faces a three-hour drive to reach Verona.
Australia's all-time great Paralympian skier Michael Milton is a genuine gold medal chance, while summer Paralympics star Lauren Parker will compete in the Nordic sports.
