The International Paralympic Committee has allocated 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Published On 20 Feb 2026
Ukrainian competitors will boycott the Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony on March 6 in Verona, their committee has said, due to the authorisation of some Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part undertheir national flags.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC)’s allocation of 10 combined slots to Russian and Belarusian athletes has created a political storm over the upcoming Games, given bitterness over the four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
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Russia, which has been excluded from much international competition due to the war, says it is wrong to mix sport and politics, while targeting disabled athletes is offensive.
“The community of Ukrainian Paralympians and the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine are outraged by the cynical decision of the International Paralympic Committee to grant bipartite slots to russia and belarus (sic),” the Ukrainian committee said in a statement on Friday, announcing its boycott of the ceremony and demanding that its flag not be used there.
That stance follows the disqualification from the Winter Games of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych for