Six Russian and four Belarusian athletes have been awarded places at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics and will compete under their national flags, the International Paralympic Committee announced on Tuesday, ITV News reports.
It marks the first time Russian competitors will carry their country's flag at a Paralympic Games since the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, which Russia hosted.
The decision follows a vote by IPC members in September that lifted the ban imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That vote also overturned a 2023 policy that had permitted Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete only under a neutral banner.
Russia's allocation includes two slots in Para alpine skiing (one male, one female), two in Para cross-country skiing (one male, one female), and two in Para snowboard (both male), according to the IPC statement. Belarus received four slots, all in cross-country skiing (one male and three female).
The Ukrainian Paralympic Committee president, Valeriy Sushkevych, told ITV News he was "outraged" by the decision, which he said reflected the IPC's "indifference" to Ukraine's suffering.
"Today, Europe tries to defend [against] Russia. Today, Ukraine fights against occupation and aggression," Sushkevych said. "Today, the flag of Russia is up in the occupied territories. Russia will have their flag up on the territory of the Paralympic Games. It's like the occupation of the Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina."
Russia's exclusion from the Paralympics has a longer history than the war in Ukraine. Russian competitors were first banned in 2016 over a state-sponsored doping programme. The ban was reimposed in 2022, alongside Belarus, following the full-scale invasion.
At the ongoing Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Russian and Belarusian athletes remain excluded from competing under their national flags. Thirteen Russian and seven Belarusian athletes are taking part under neutral banners, ITV News reports.
The IPC announcement came a week after International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry implied in a speech that Russians could be readmitted to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics under their national flag — a signal that the broader reintegration of Russian athletes into international sport may be accelerating.
