Russian athletes set to compete under own flag at Paralympics for first time since 2014

Russia is set to have athletes competing under their own flag at the Paralympic Games for the first time since 2014.

In a statement, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Russia's National Paralympic Committee had been awarded six slots in the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

Wildcards have been granted so the country will have one woman and one man competing in para alpine skiing, one woman and one man in para cross-country skiing, and two men in the snowboarding event in Italy.

The latest move by the IPC comes after Russia was twice banned from the games, first in 2016 over a state-sponsored doping scheme, and then in 2022 due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The last time Russian athletes were able to compete under their own flag was in 2014, when the country hosted both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi.

While Russian athletes have featured at the Paralympics since, they have competed under a neutral banner.

The IPC voted to lift the ban on Russia in September but some sports maintained their own suspensions.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the recent move was "completely the wrong decision" - and she urged the IPC to reconsider.

She posted on social media: "Resuming the right of athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags while the brutal invasion of Ukraine continues sends a terrible message.

"The International Paralympic Committee should reconsider this decision urgently."

Last year, IPC president Andrew Parsons told Sky's sports correspondent Rob Harris that Russian participation in the games was "not linked to participation in wars".

"Russia and Belarus, they used Paralympic sport to promote what they called the "special operation" at the time," he said in an interview.

"And this is what led to the first suspension, the suspension in 2023. Between 2023 and now... there is less evidence of that being used again for the promotion of the war."

The UK and 32 mainly European countries signed a joint statement expressing "serious concern" after IPC members voted to lift the partial suspensions of Russia and Belarus in September.

It comes after Ukrainian sports minister Matvii Bidnyi told Sky News that the Paralympics should not have lifted its ban on Russia.

He disputed the IPC president's claim that sport is no longer being used to promote the war, adding: "It's unjust, and we think it's not appropriate to give the opportunity to terrorist states."