IPC Restores Russian and Belarusian Flags at 2026 Paralympics in Sharp Break From Olympic Policy

When the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics begins in Milan on March 6, a Russian flag will be carried into the stadium for the first time in more than a decade — a symbolic moment that has already ignited a fierce diplomatic backlash and exposed a widening rift between the world's two most powerful sports governance bodies Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine..

The International Paralympic Committee confirmed on Tuesday that it has awarded Russia's National Paralympic Committee a total of six slots and Belarus four slots for the Milan Cortina Games . The athletes will compete in Para-alpine skiing, Para-cross-country skiing, and Para-snowboard under their national flags, anthems, and team colors. IPC spokesperson Craig Spence stated that the athletes would be "treated like (those from) any other country" Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine. — a formulation that drew immediate condemnation from Ukraine and several Western governments.

The decision marks a dramatic departure from the approach taken by the International Olympic Committee, which continues to require the thirteen Russian and seven Belarusian athletes at the ongoing Winter Olympics to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes — using the French acronym AIN — stripped of national flags, anthems, and team uniforms Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. That two international bodies have reached opposite conclusions on the same geopolitical question, on the same Italian soil just weeks apart, represents the most visible fault line in international sports governance since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The road to Tuesday's announcement was neither straight nor predictable. Both countries were suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia . A partial ban — allowing athletes to compete as neutrals — was introduced in 2023 in place of a complete ban enacted after the invasion Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. However, the four individual governing bodies in charge of the six sports contested at the Paralympics decided to keep their bans in place Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP..

That calculus changed in December, when Russia and Belarus won an appeal against FIS — the governing body for skiing and snowboarding — at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, permitting them to compete and accumulate ranking points . The CAS ruling had an immediate cascade effect. With the legal barrier removed, the IPC — which had unexpectedly lifted its suspension on Russian and Belarusian athletes at the organisation's general assembly in September — moved to allocate bipartite commission invitations. Russia received two places each in Para-alpine skiing, Para-cross-country skiing, and Para-snowboard, while Belarus was awarded four slots, all in cross-country skiing Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine..

Among the Russian athletes confirmed for Milan Cortina is three-time alpine skiing gold medallist Alexey Bugaev, who returned to international competition in January and has since won a World Cup title . Cross-country skiers Ivan Golubkov and Anastasiia Bagiian, both World Championship medallists, have also been named Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. Bagiian likewise claimed a World Cup victory after her return, suggesting the enforced absence has done little to blunt Russia's competitive edge in winter para-sports.

The reaction from Ukraine was swift and unsparing. Ukraine's Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi described the decision as outrageous, arguing that the flags of aggressor nations have no place at international sporting events built on principles of fairness and respect Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine.. His position reflects a stance Kyiv has maintained since the earliest days of the full-scale invasion — that allowing Russian national symbols at major competitions serves as a normalization tool for Moscow's war effort.

The criticism extended beyond Ukraine. Senior British government officials also condemned the move, arguing that permitting Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their own flags while the invasion of Ukraine continues sends a damaging signal about the international community's resolve Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine.. Ukraine's National Paralympic Committee has itself been awarded bipartite slots in three sports Paralympic governing body lifts ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes ahead of 2026 gamesfrance24.com·SecondarySix Russian and four Belarusian athletes will compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Tuesday, marking a significant shift in policy following years of restrictions linked to the war in Ukraine., setting up the uncomfortable possibility of Russian and Ukrainian athletes competing side by side — one under a national flag, the other representing a country under active bombardment.

Yet the IPC's position is not without its institutional logic, and the broader landscape of international sports governance suggests the momentum may be shifting in Moscow's favor. Russia and Belarus' Olympics teams were excluded from competition by both the IOC and the IPC in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 . At the last Winter Games, taking place in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, the two countries were subject to a blanket ban Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. Amid pushback and legal challenges from Russia, the IOC later relented somewhat and started to allow individual athletes to compete on a case-by-case basis Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP..

The erosion of sporting sanctions against Russia has been uneven but directional. World Athletics canceled its ban on Russia and Belarus in 2023 and the international chess federation lifted its restrictions on Russian teams late last year . Tennis never managed to sustain meaningful restrictions beyond a brief Wimbledon ban in 2022 and Davis Cup team competition limits. In football, Russia is banned from the World Cup and European Championship qualification processes, though the head of the world governing body, Gianni Infantino, has called on European federation UEFA to lift the ban, a move UEFA is currently resisting Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. Ice hockey retains a ban, but Moscow has said it plans to appeal Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP..

The IPC's decision also raises questions about the coherence of the international sanctions regime more broadly. If the Paralympic governing body treats Russian athletes like those from any other country while the IOC imposes neutral flags, while UEFA bans national teams entirely, and while the European Union maintains sweeping economic sanctions targeting Russian state entities, the message to both Moscow and Kyiv becomes muddled. Critics of the patchwork approach argue it allows Russia to claim selective normalization victories while the underlying conflict remains unresolved.

For Ukrainian athletes and officials, the symbolism cuts deep. The age-old debate over the politicization of sports came into sharp media focus at the Winter Olympics in recent days, but with a focus on Ukraine more than Russia Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladislav Heraskevych was excluded from the Games after he refused to stop wearing a commemorative helmet carrying images of people killed during Russia's invasion Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. That Ukraine faces restrictions for commemorating its fallen while Russian athletes prepare to march under their national flag at the Paralympics represents what Kyiv views as an untenable double standard in international sport.

The deeper question now facing the sporting world is whether the IPC's move represents an isolated divergence or the leading edge of a broader normalization. Russia's Olympic Committee chief has said that the Milan-Cortina Winter Games should be the last Olympics without a full Russian team, suggesting a return for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles was on the cards Russian and Belarussian flags to return at 2026 Paralympicsdw.com·SecondaryThe International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has granted 10 athletes from Russia and Belarus wildcard spots for the upcoming Winter Games in Italy from March 6-15. The IPC on Tuesday told news agencies AFP and SID that the limited number of athletes would be allowed to compete under their own flags. The athletes would be "treated like [those from] any other country," the IPC told AFP.. With the CAS ruling establishing legal precedent, the IOC's own legal review of Russia's suspension advancing, and multiple federations already having dropped their bans, the trajectory appears to favor reintegration — regardless of whether the conflict that triggered the sanctions has been resolved. The Milan Cortina Paralympics, beginning March 6, will offer the first public test of whether the sporting world is prepared to accept that outcome, or whether the backlash forces a recalibration before the flags are raised.