International Paralympic Committee Lifts Partial Suspensions of Russia, Belarus
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International Paralympic Committee Lifts Partial Suspensions of Russia, Belarus
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted a partial suspension of Russia and Belarus imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decision opens the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics despite the ongoing war and occupation. Final participation in the six winter sports remains up to the international federations, which have so far maintained bans on Russian andBelarusian athletes. Ukraine’S Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi condemned the decision, saying those who voted for it had betrayed “their conscience and the Olympic values”
The decision, taken at the IPC General Assembly in Seoul, opens the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics despite the ongoing war and occupation.
However, final participation in the six winter sports remains up to the international federations, which have so far maintained bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“This decision means NPC Belarus and NPC Russia now regain their full rights and privileges of IPC membership,” the committee said in a statement.
It added: “The IPC will work with the two members involved to put practical arrangements in place as soon as reasonably possible.”
The Russian Paralympic Committee welcomed the move, calling it “a fair decision” and “an example of how athletes’ rights should be protected without discrimination on national or political grounds.”
Ukraine’s Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi condemned the decision, saying those who voted for it had betrayed “their conscience and the Olympic values.”
“We call on our European partners, who will host the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games, not to allow the flag of the aggressor state to be raised over the free and democratic space while the war of aggression continues,” he said.
He added that Ukraine’s “decision on whether to participate will be made collectively at a later stage.”
To be eligible, athletes must hold an active license for the 2025–26 season from their international federations in para alpine skiing, para cross-country skiing, para snowboarding, para biathlon, para ice hockey, or wheelchair curling.
The six sports on the Milan-Cortina program remain dependent on federations that have not reinstated Russian or Belarusian athletes, even under neutral banners.
“It may seem short notice, since many selection paths are already advanced,” said Marie-Amelie Le Fur, president of the French Paralympic Committee, in an interview with AFP. “To date, not all quotas have been filled by national Paralympic committees. When the quotas are re-established under the guise of universality, this could also open slots for the Russian and Belarusian committees, which have regained their rights. We must wait for the positions of the international federations and how the final selection process unfolds.”