Russia’s return under national flag sparks Paralympic protest

February 20, 2026 Oliver Obel

Ukraine and Poland will boycott the Opening Ceremony of next month’s Winter Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina, protesting a decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be permitted to participate without the neutral designation used at recent Olympic events — a shift that has drawn immediate political backlash.

A Break From Recent Olympic Practice

At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, held in 2021, and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Russian athletes competed without their national flag or anthem. Those restrictions followed revelations of a state-sponsored doping program and were later reinforced after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In September, the IPC voted to lift its broader suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The committee has since clarified that competitors in Milan-Cortina will be allowed to compete under their own national symbols.

That approach diverges from the framework used at recent Olympic Games and has reopened debate over how international sports bodies should respond to the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine Declines Official Presence

Kyiv said it will not send government representatives to the Opening Ceremony, and no Ukrainian officials will attend any events during the Games. Ukrainian athletes, however, are still expected to compete.

In a statement, Ukraine's sports minister Matvii Bidnyi said:

"The flags of Russia and Belarus have no place at international sporting events that stand for fairness, integrity and respect. These are the flags of regimes that have turned sport into a tool of war, lies and contempt.

When the Russian flag is raised on the international stage, it becomes part of Russia's propaganda machine. It sends a message to the world that the war is 'normal'. No, it is not normal.

It is deeply outrageous that officials of the International Paralympic Committee refuse to understand this."

Poland Echoes Objections

Poland’s Ministry of Sport and Tourism announced it will also boycott the ceremony. In a statement, the ministry said:

"In the face of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in a sports competition using their flags and anthems is absolutely unacceptable."

The protest applies specifically to the Opening Ceremony and does not prevent athletes from competing.

From Doping Sanctions to War

Russian athletes were first barred from competing under their national flag after investigations uncovered a state-backed doping scheme. Sanctions widened following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Belarusian competitors were restricted from using national symbols in 2023 because of the country’s close political and military alignment with Russia.

If Russian athletes march under their flag in Milan-Cortina, it would mark the first time the symbol has appeared at a Paralympic Games since Sochi in 2014.

International Reaction

The decision has also prompted criticism from the United Kingdom. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy wrote on social media:

"Allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags while the brutal invasion of Ukraine continues sends a terrible message. The International Paralympic Committee should reconsider this decision urgently."

So far, the IPC has given no indication that it plans to reverse its position.

Sources: International Paralympic Committee statements, Ukraine Ministry of Sport, Poland Ministry of Sport and Tourism, UK Government, Reuters, BBC, AP.