Participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes Russian athletes had been prohibited from competing in the Paralympic Games under their name, flag, and
national anthem since 2016. This sanction originally stemmed from the discovery of a
state-sponsored doping program that had been active during the
2014 Winter Olympics and
Paralympics in Sochi. Russia was banned entirely from the
2016 Summer Paralympics, Following a ruling by the
Court of Arbitration for Sport that challenged an outright ban from international sport by the
World Anti-Doping Agency, Russia was allowed to send a
semi-neutral team under the emblem of the
Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) at the
2020 Summer Paralympics. The team was, with exceptions, still prohibited from using the name, flag, or national anthem of Russia. RPC was also expected to compete in the 2022 Winter Paralympics. Due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that began shortly before the Games, the IPC initially announced that RPC and Belarusian athletes would compete neutrally under the Paralympic flag. However, following the threat of boycotts by multiple NPCs, the IPC walked back the decision and banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Games entirely. Both nations' athletes competed under the banner of "
Neutral Paralympic Athletes" at the
2024 Summer Paralympics. In September 2025, the IPC reinstated the Russian Paralympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to participate in IPC-sanctioned competitions with their flag and anthem. The IPC cited a desire to separate politics from sport, and believed that continuing to ban Russia from competition while allowing Israel to participate despite the
Gaza war was inconsistent. and it was "not possible in practice" for Russia to qualify for Para ice hockey. In December 2025, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in an appeal that Russian athletes who meet the IOC's criteria for
individual neutral athletes, must be able to compete neutrally in FIS qualifying events for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. On 17 February 2026, it was reported that six Russian athletes and four Belarusian athletes across alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowboarding had been awarded invitations by the Bipartite Commission, allowing them to compete in the Games. The decision was met with condemnation from Ukraine and its European allies, who considered it inappropriate for Russia and Belarus to return to international sport amid the still-ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. IPC president Andrew Parsons also stated that Russian soldiers injured in the war could be eligible to compete in future Paralympic Games. Following the decision, Ukraine confirmed that its delegation would not attend the opening ceremony, and several other countries expressed solidarity with the boycott. These boycotts did not impact athlete participation, while some of these countries, among others, had already planned to not send their athletes to the opening ceremony for logistical reasons. EU commissioner for sport
Glenn Micallef announced that he would not attend the opening ceremony, in solidarity with Ukraine. Ukraine's public broadcaster
Suspilne announced that it would not broadcast the opening ceremony, while Estonian broadcaster
Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) announced that it would not broadcast any event featuring Russian or Belarusian athletes. The
Ukrainian delegation provided its athletes with a ceremonial uniform decorated with a map of the country, including Crimea and Donbas. However, the IPC prohibited its use, claiming that the uniform had political content, which was not appropriate for the context. On 10 March, after Russia won a gold medal with
Anastasiia Bagiian and her guide Sergei Siniakin in the women's sprint classic vision impaired event, the German silver medalists
Linn Kazmaier and Florian Baumann turned their backs towards the Russian athletes on the podium, citing not supporting the "system" in Russia. They were also turned their backs by the Czech silver medalists
Simona Bubeníčková and David Srutek and German bronze medalists
Leonie Walter and Christian Krasman on 11 March, and a third time by the same Czech silver medalists
Simona Bubeníčková and David Srutek on 15 March. On 15 March, IPC president Andrew Parsons said he was ″disappointed″ with the complaints from the Ukrainian National Paralympic Committee, saying that ″I do hope this is a lesson learned also for those NPCs that have chosen to focus more on the political side than on the sport side, because sport has prevailed″. In turn,
Valerii Sushkevych, president of Ukraine's National Paralympic Committee, said that calling for peace and stopping the war was a human-rights issue, not a political statement. Sushkevych also said that the ceremonies are not sporting competitions, but are used as a political event by the IPC.
Israel and United States attack on Iran On 28 February, during the period of the
Olympic Truce and six days before the opening ceremony, a coordinated joint attack was launched in Iran by Israel and the United States in an attempt to force
regime change, including the
killing of Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei and
several other Iranian officials. Iran was scheduled to send one athlete—cross-country skier Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei—to the Games. On 6 March, the IPC confirmed that Khatibi Mianaei had withdrawn from the Games; president Andrew Parsons stated, "[W]ith the conflict ongoing across the Middle East, the risk to human life is too high", and said that damage to infrastructure in the country made it difficult to communicate with the Iranian delegation. == See also ==