Flags of contention: Russia and Belarus return to the Paralympics

 ROME - The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags and anthems at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, that opens on March 6. A decision that has drawn swift condemnation from the Italian government and prompted Ukraine to announce a partial boycott. 

 

 Italy’s Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, and Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, were unequivocal in their opposition. In a joint statement, the two ministers expressed the government’s “absolute opposition” to the IPC ruling, adding that Rome’s stance echoed that of 33 other countries and the European Commission. 

 

 “Russia’s continued violation of the truce and Olympic and Paralympic ideals, supported by Belarus, is incompatible with the participation of their athletes in the Games, except as neutral individual athletes,” the statement read. The IPC subsequently confirmed it was in talks with the Italian government over the matter. 

 

 Ukraine’s response was unsparing. Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi announced that the Ukrainian delegation would boycott the opening ceremony and withdraw from all official Paralympic events. “We will not be present at the opening ceremony. We will not take part in any other official Paralympic events,” Bidnyi wrote on social media. “We thank all officials in the free world who will do the same.” 

 

 Bidnyi also directly attacked the framing of Russian Paralympic sport, writing that in Russia it “has been made a pillar for those whom Putin sent to Ukraine to kill, and who returned from Ukraine with injuries and disabilities.” 

 

 The ruling marks a significant departure from recent precedent. Since 2014, Russian athletes permitted to participate in major international competitions have done so under a neutral flag. At the current Winter Olympics, 13 Russian and seven Belarusian athletes are competing as Individual Neutral Athletes (or AINs), barred from representing their countries, using their flags, or competing in team events. 

 

 The six Russian Paralympic athletes were admitted via wildcards, distributed across alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. The IPC has specified that the Russian and Belarussian athletes will be treated “like those from any other country”. 

 

 The decision in fact dates back to a September 2025 IPC membership vote that lifted partial suspensions on both nations, though it appears to have attracted relatively little attention at the time. 

 

 The organisers of Milano-Cortina have been careful to distance themselves from the controversy. “The decision as to who participates or not is not up to us,” CEO Andrea Varnier said. “We don’t engage in politics. We are the organisers.”