Sweet countries have officially announced that they will not participate this Friday in the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. The decision was made by the delegations of Germany, France and Ukraine, among others, in official protest against the presence of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their national symbols at the Verona Arena.
The controversy arose after the decision of the Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in September 2025, when lifted the sanction which prohibited these countries from using their flags. This measure, approved by a majority, allows six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to represent their nations normally in Milan. It occurs despite the invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022, when Vladimir Putin ordered the special military operation that unleashed the largest war in Europe since [1945. Four years after the start of the conflict, the outcome depends on a possible agreement that seeks to satisfy the Putin’s demandsallow an exit for Ukraine and bring a benefit to the interests of Donald Trump.
So far, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Netherlands, Ukraine, Germany and France will participate in this protest.
The democracy of the IPC against the boycott
The president of the IPC, Andrew Parsonshas defended the position of the organization and the freedom of the national committees to express themselves: “This was approved in the last Assembly by majority. It is important to say that the fact that a country is at war does not go against the constitution of the IPC. There are many countries in the world, at this moment, in conflict.”
Although in 2023 there was a suspension due to evidence that sport was used to promote war, in 2025 the sentiment of the Assembly changes. “We have to implement the 2025 decision as it was done before in 2023. We also understand that this decision is not liked and will be expressed. It is a right that people have,” added Parsons.
For its part, the German Sports Association for the Disabled (DBS) has justified its absence in an official statement: “This decision allows us to focus on the upcoming competitions and respectfully express our solidarity with the Ukrainian delegation.”
Despite the rudeness in the parade, the German team does compete in the Games and participates in the previous recordings. In a more radical position, Ukraine and Estonia maintain a total boycott to the ceremony.
He Spanish Paralympic Committeealthough he votes against lifting the sanction, confirms that abide by the democratic decision of the rest of the member countries.
For the opening ceremony, because the distances are very long between venues and some athletes have competitions the next day, many countries they will not physically send to no athlete. What the IPC has offered them is to provide a video of their flag bearer and have a volunteer, upon hearing the name of the country, come out with the national flag.
