According to TASS and other Russian media, Russian Paralympic Committee Chairman Rozhkov said on 4th that the members of the Russian delegation participating in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics have all arrived in Italy. This is the first time since the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics that Russian athletes have been allowed to participate in the Paralympics event with their national flag and national anthem.
The 2026 Paralympic Games will be held from March 6 to 15. Six Russian athletes will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding. In September 2025, the International Paralympic Committee Conference held in Seoul, South Korea, voted to fully restore the membership and rights of the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees. The International Paralympic Committee said in its statement that it will maintain close cooperation with the two member organizations and “take practical follow-up measures as soon as possible.” This move paved the way for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate under their own national flags in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Games.
“The relevant decisions cannot be overturned by the board or myself.” According to Reuters, International Paralympic Committee Chairman Parsons emphasized on February 23 that the International Paralympic Committee Convention has made a formal decision. Regarding representatives from some European countries who said they would boycott the opening ceremony, Parsons said: “We hope to convey the ideas of inclusion and diversity and encourage them to participate. But if they do not want to participate, we will also respect them.”
The New York Times website reported that the new changes mean that Russia‘s “long banishment” from the world sports world is coming to an end, or will lay the groundwork for Russian athletes to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on national behalf. Previously, Russia faced ban restrictions on many international events due to the doping incident at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. After the outbreak of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict, Russia‘s sanctions in the sports field were further intensified. It was reported that at the current Milan Winter Olympics held not long ago, 13 Russian athletes were only allowed to compete as “neutral individual athletes”.
Russia‘s Tsaritsa TV website reported earlier that the return of Russian athletes to participate in international sporting events in the name of their countries is a trend. The key goal this year is to restore the International Olympic Committee‘s qualifications and status in the International Olympic Committee, “all obstacles have been cleared,” said Russia‘s Minister of Sport and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Yevgeny Yevgenych. He also said that many things are changing with the lifting of restrictions on Russian athletes participating in international sporting events. The International Olympic Committee Executive Committee has lifted restrictions on Russian youth athletes participating in international events, including group events.
The Olympic truce is a UN resolution calling for global peace seven days before the opening ceremony of the Olympics and seven days after the closing of the Paralympics. The goal is to promote the peace and unity spirit of the Olympic sport and ensure that athletes are protected from attack threats during the round-trip events, Yahoo! News said. This year, the truce lasted from January 30 to March 22, but the United States and Israel chose to launch a military strike against Iran on February 28. Global activists called for the International Olympic Committee to investigate and take action on whether the U.S.-Israeli military attack violates the truce agreement. This is not the first time the United States has violated the agreement, “the recent strike against Iran is just another example,” said sports and politics researcher Bojkov.
The International Olympic Committee stressed in a statement on the 3rd that the armistice agreement was not legally binding. “In a world shaken by conflict, division and tragedy, many people have lost their lives and experienced misfortune. The International Olympic Committee firmly believes that now more than ever before, a belief must be held that sports must always be a ‘lighthouse of hope’, a force that unites the entire world in peaceful competition.”