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For the first time since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia’s flag will be represented at a major international sporting event.
The International Paralympic Committee announced Tuesday that Russia’s National Paralympic Committee was awarded six spots for the Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, and that Belarus, a close ally of Russia, was also awarded four spots.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons gives the Paralympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, not pictured, after receiving it from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, not pictured, during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France, on September 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
“The IPC can confirm that NPC Russia has been awarded a total of six places: two in Para Alpine Skiing (one man, one woman), two in Para Cross Country (one man, one woman) and two in Para Snowboard (both men),” the statement read.
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“NPC Belarus has been allocated four slots in total, all in cross country (one male and three female).”
Should any of these athletes win gold in their respective sports, it will be the first time the Russian national anthem has been played on stage at a major global sporting event in four years. It has not been heard at any Olympic or Paralympic Games since the 2016 Games in Rio.
The announcement also marks the first time Russian athletes will compete at the Paralympics under their own flag in over a decade, due both to the war and a ban stemming from a state-sponsored doping program.
The IPC, which operates separately from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced a partial lifting of the suspension of Russia and Belarus in September.
Anastasia Kucherova carries a sign as she leads athletes from Ukraine as they enter the arena during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
IPC president Andrew Parson then told The Associated Press in November that no athletes from those countries would be at the Games, but Russia appealed the ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which cleared the way for athletes to compete under a neutral flag at the Olympics and their own at the Paralympic Games.
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The announcement was met with backlash, and Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi wrote on social media that no Ukrainian official would be present for the Paralympic Games.
“In response to the outrageous decision by the organizers of the Paralympic Games to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under their national flag, Ukrainian officials will not participate in the Paralympic Games,” Bidnyi said.
“We will also not be present at the opening ceremony and will not participate in other official Paralympic events,” his statement continued. “We thank all officials from the countries of the free world who will also ignore the official events of the Paralympic Games. We will continue the fight!”
In an early statement on social media, Bidnyi said the flags of Russia and Belarus “have no place at international sporting events that stand for justice, integrity and respect.”
He also accused the IPC of giving Russia a platform “to express war propaganda.”
Ukraine’s Vladyslav Heraskevych arrives at the finish line during a men’s skeleton practice at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
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Tuesday’s announcement comes amid controversy at the Olympics after a Ukrainian athlete was disqualified from a men’s skeleton event after he refused to wear any helmet other than the one honoring his country’s athletes killed in the war with Russia.
The IOC said the decision stemmed from its rules that prohibit athletes from making political statements on the field.
