The International Paralympic Committee has approved six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. This decision marks the first appearance of the Russian flag at the Games since 2014. The athletes will participate in para-alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed on February 17, 2026, that six athletes from Russia and four from Belarus will compete under their national flags at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, scheduled from March 6 to 15. This follows the IPC's decision in September 2025 to lift a partial suspension imposed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, during which athletes from both nations were limited to neutral status since 2023.
Russia received six slots: two in para-alpine skiing (one male, one female), two in para-cross-country skiing (one male, one female), and two in para-snowboarding (both male). Belarus was allocated four slots, all in para-cross-country skiing (one male, three female). These are bipartite commission invitations, allowing participation despite prior bans by some sports federations. In December 2025, Russia and Belarus won an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, enabling them to accumulate ranking points.
The IPC stated that the athletes "will be treated the same as athletes from any other country." Among the Russian participants is three-time para-alpine skiing gold medalist Aleksey Bugaev, alongside cross-country skiers Ivan Golubkov and Anastasiia Bagiian, both world championship medalists who recently won World Cup titles after returning to competition in January 2026.
The decision has drawn criticism. Valeriy Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, expressed outrage, saying, "I am very, very angry and outraged by the decision to allow six Russian athletes to compete under their national flag. This is terrible." He added that Ukraine would not boycott, as "if we do not go, it would mean allowing (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to claim a victory over Ukrainian Paralympians and over Ukraine." UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called it "completely the wrong decision," arguing it "sends a terrible message" amid the ongoing invasion.
This will be the first time the Russian flag flies at a Paralympics since the 2014 Sochi Games, which were affected by a state-sponsored doping scandal. Should a Russian athlete win gold, their national anthem would play for the first time at a major global event since 2022.
