MOSCOW, February 19. /TASS/. Members of the Russian delegation bound for the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy next month have mostly received their visas, with some still pending, President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS on Thursday.
Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev announced on Wednesday that the country’s national delegation at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy will consist of 23 people.
"Most of the athletes and staff members of the [Russian] Paralympic delegation have already been granted entry visas and arrived in Italy for final training camps ahead of the Paralympics. That includes athletes and staff in alpine skiing and cross-country skiing for the vision impaired," Rozhkov said.
"Cross-country skiers and the accompanying staff for athletes with Musculoskeletal System Disorders have already departed to Italy for the training camps," he continued.
"Athletes and staff of the snowboard national team, who are set to wrap up with the final stage of their training camp in the Chelyabinsk Region, submitted their documents at the visa application center earlier in the day. Their flight to the Games is scheduled for the night on March 3. Visas will be issued as per regular procedures," Rozhkov added.
On February 17, Rozhkov told TASS that six Russian Para athletes had received bipartite invitations to the 2026 Winter Paralympics. The invitations were extended to three-time Paralympic Champion in alpine skiing Aleksey Bugayev, two-time World Champion in alpine skiing Varvara Voronchikhina, multiple World Champion in para cross-country skiing Ivan Golubkov, World Championship medalist in para cross-country skiing Anastasia Bagiyan and her guide Sergey Sinyakin, and para snowboarders Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo.
Rozhkov also stated that Russian Paralympians would take part in the Parade of Athletes at the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy next month under the national flag.
2026 Winter Paralympic Games
On January 20, the IPC revised the decision regarding the admission of the Russian national team to the 2026 Paralympics, allowing cross-country skiers, snowboarders, and alpine skiers to apply for invitations. In September 2025, the General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee fully reinstated the Paralympic Committees of Russia and Belarus.
However, on October 23, 2025, the IPC press office announced that Russians would not be competing at the 2026 Paralympic Games due to the stance assumed by certain sports federations. In particular, the Council of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) decided not to allow Russians to participate in international competitions, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The RPC later successfully challenged that decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).