The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted at an Extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin last month to suspend both NPCs.

This went further than the stance of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which has not sanctioned the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of Russia and Belarus despite recommending that athletes and officials from both countries are excluded from international sport competitions.

Both the Russian Paralympic Committee and NPC of Belarus have planned appeals against the decision.

Sushkevych reflected on his attendance at the Extraordinary General Assembly, which came against the backdrop of a speech by IOC President Thomas Bach at the G20 Summit in Bali where he insisted "Olympic sport needs the participation of all athletes who accept the rules".

The NPC of Ukraine President said he was "shocked" at Bach's comments on the day prior to the start of the Extraordinary General Assembly, and admitted he could not avoid portraying his emotions in his speech to delegates.

"I was a little scared," he told Tribuna.com.

"I saw that there were quite a lot of people in favour of leaving Russia's membership.

"When it came to my speech, and I spoke after [RPC President Pavel] Rozhkov, I had a very emotional version of perception.

"And I didn't want emotions, I wanted to make a reasoned speech.

"But, to be honest, it was not without emotions.

"I spoke quite emotionally and with great excitement, because I could not help but worry about the Ukrainian people who die every day.

"I exceeded the regulation [time], but for the first time no one stopped me.

"[I] performed until the end."

Sushkevych explained the factors he believed contributed to the suspensions, which were passed by 64 votes to 39 in the case of Russia and 54 to 54 for Belarus.

"This is definitely my work and the work of my team," he claimed.

"But when we talk about IPC - let's be aware that it is not one person.

"These are subjects in the composition of the Board, President, vice-president, staff, and so on.

"As a Ukrainian, you understand that the apparatus in any institution plays a very important role.

"Sometimes even more than managers.

"And our work, and general human feeling, and solidarity combined in this case."

The NPC of Ukraine President added that he has "respect" for IPC President Andrew Parsons, who insisted "it was important to allow the General Assembly, as the supreme body of the IPC, to take a decision on this important matter".

Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 after the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics but prior to the start of the Winter Paralympics.

The IPC had initially decided to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under neutral banners, but reversed this on the eve of the Opening Ceremony by ruling that they could not take part.

Sushkevych detailed some of the discussions taking place in the build-up to the Winter Paralympics, and confirmed that he felt Ukraine should boycott the Games if Russia and Belarus competed in any capacity.

He claimed that this led to "dozens of countries" threatening to follow suit.

Ukraine went on to enjoy a successful Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, finishing second on the medals table behind hosts China.

The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international sport featured heavily in discussions at the Olympic Summit on Friday (December 9), with Parsons one of the participants.

Following the Summit, the IOC vowed to follow up on an Olympic Council of Asia proposal to enable athletes from both countries to compete in its competitions, including Paris 2024 qualifiers.

This has sparked an angry response and criticism in Ukraine from Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Sports Minister Vadym Guttsait, who is also President of the NOC of Ukraine.