Ukraine protests as Russian and Belarusian Paralympic athletes are cleared to compete under their nation

Ukraine’s national sports minister said on Wednesday that the country’s officials would not attend the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, protesting the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.

The International Paralympic Committee has lifted a three-year ban that prevented athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from competing under their national flags. The ban was issued in response to Russia’s ongoing large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“The IPC can confirm that the NPC [National Paralympic Committee] “Russia has received a total of six places: two in Para alpine skiing (one male and one female), two in Para cross-country skiing (one male and one female) and two in Para snowboarding (both male),” the committee said in a statement. “NPC Belarus has received four places in total, all in cross-country skiing (one male and three female).”

The 2026 Paralympic Games begin on March 6.

Immediately after the February 2022 invasion, the International Olympic Committee effectively banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympic and Paralympic Games under their national flags.

A decision the following year allowed athletes from those countries to participate in the Olympics as neutral competitors, but national symbols, including flags, anthems and team uniforms, remained banned.

Ukraine’s Minister of Youth and Sports Matvii Bidnyi strongly condemned the decision and said the country’s officials would not participate in any Paralympic events, although Ukrainian athletes would continue to compete.

“The decision by the organizers of the Paralympic Games to allow the murderers and their accomplices to compete in the Paralympic Games under national flags is both disappointing and outrageous,” he wrote on social media.

He stressed that Ukrainian athletes, who have often performed well in Paralympic competitions and finished second in the medal table at the 2022 Beijing Games, would not participate in the boycott.

Some European officials also condemned the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags, which could, if the country wins a gold medal, mark the first performance of Russia’s national anthem at an Olympic or Paralympic event in years.

European Union Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef said he would join Ukraine in boycotting the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and called the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under their national flag “unacceptable.”

“As long as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, I cannot support the restoration of national symbols, flags, anthems and uniforms that are inseparable from that conflict,” Micallef said.

Lisa Nandy, UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, also condemned the decision.

“Allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags while the brutal invasion of Ukraine continues sends a terrible message,” Nandy said, calling it “a completely wrong decision” and urging the IPC to “urgently reconsider this decision.”

The debate highlights the challenge for Games organizers to keep the Olympics as free of politics as possible. Earlier this month, Ukrainian skeleton runner Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified of the Winter Olympics for wearing a “remembrance helmet” representing Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia.

News themezone has asked the International Paralympic Committee to comment on the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their flags.