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Russia inclusion in Paralympics prompts Ukrainian fury
Karolos Grohmann & Julien PretotĀ ā¢ Ā February 19th, 2026 9:25 am
Ukrainian officials won't attend any events at the Paralympics, including the opening ceremony | Photo: AP
Ukraine officials will boycott the Milan-āCortina Paralympics next month in protest at the participation of a handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes, who've been cleared to compete under their national flags.
Ukraine's athletes āwill still take part in the March 6-15 Games but the country's sports minister Matvii Bidnyi said on Wednesday none of the country's sports officials would be at the opening ceremony nor any Games event -- and he urged other nations to follow āsuit.
"In response to the Paralympics organisers' outrageous decision to let russians and belarusians compete under their national flags, Ukrainian officials will not attend the Paralympic Games," Bidnyi said on social media.
"We will not be present at the opening ceremony. We will not take part in any other official Paralympic events. We thank every official from the free world who will do the same. We will keep fighting!"
Russia and Belarus will have a combined 10 athletes at the Paralympics following Tuesday's decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Russia will have two spots āin Para alpine skiing, ātwo in cross-country skiing and ā two in snowboarding while Belarus was awarded four places, all in cross-country skiing.
"It is a dirty decision, absolutely and ānot respectable, not European," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
"I think this is an awful decision... and not just. We will react."
The IPC did not respond to a request for comment.
Russia and Belarus were banned from Paralympic competitions after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but regained full membership rights in the IPC after member organisations voted in September 2025 to lift their partial suspensions.
The European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef said he would also not be attending the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, and Poland's sports ministry won't attend either.
- Reuters
