Summary
Despite the International Paralympic Committee’s recent decision to lift suspensions, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not qualify for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games, as key sports federations maintain their bans following the invasion of Ukraine.
Bonn, Germany — The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed Thursday that no athletes from Russia or Belarus will participate in the upcoming 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympics, despite the recent reinstatement of their national committees.
The IPC said it received confirmation from each sport’s governing body that “in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March’s Games.” The final responsibility for qualification and athlete eligibility lies with individual sports federations.
Major governing bodies — including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), the International Biathlon Union (IBU), and World Curling — continue to uphold bans on both nations. Although Russia has been cleared to compete in Para ice hockey, World Para Ice Hockey told the IPC that “it is not possible in practice for the nation to qualify for March’s Games.” Belarus does not currently have an international-level Para ice hockey team.
“The positions of FIS, IBU and World Curling currently mean that athletes and teams from Belarus and Russia cannot compete in their events, making it impossible for them to qualify,” IPC President Andrew Parsons said in a statement.
Parsons noted that the qualification tournament for Para ice hockey has already been finalized, leaving no opportunity for late entries. The 2026 Milan-Cortina Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled for March 6–15, 2026, in Italy.
Russia and Belarus were banned from international sports after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Russian Olympic Committee also remains suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2023 for violating the Olympic Charter by absorbing regional sports bodies from occupied Ukrainian territories.
While Russian athletes will be allowed to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics from February 6–22, the same privilege will not extend to the Paralympic Games.