VERONA, /Italy/, March 6. /TASS/. Athletes representing 28 countries have confirmed their readiness to participate in Athletes Parade during the Official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy on the night of March 6 in the country’s northern landmark city of Verona, the press office of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said in a statement.
"The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) expects athletes from 28 of the 55 competing National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) to march during the Athlete Parade of tonight’s Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony," the statement reads.
"Twenty-eight NPCs have confirmed athlete attendance this evening in Verona, with many other NPCs not sending athletes for performance reasons due to competition taking place from 09:30 [local time] on Saturday [March 7] in four of the six sports," according to the statement.
"Seven NPCs have indicated they will not attend for political reasons. They are: Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine," the statement added.
Last month, delegations from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Finland announced their decision to boycott the official Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics because of Russia’s participation in the event.
The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Italy on March 6-15. The Russian Paralympians were allowed to compete at the upcoming Winter Paralympics under the national flag and to the tune of the country’s anthem for the first time in the 12-year period due to previously imposed sanctions.
President of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) Pavel Rozhkov told TASS in February 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 Monzer.
Russia’s Degtyarev announced last month that the country’s national delegation at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy would consist of 23 members.
RPC chief Rozhkov also announced in February 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 its 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 taken 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).