Russia and Belarus have rejoined the Paralympics, prompting a boycott by 16 countries of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games’ opening ceremony.

For the first time in over ten years, the Russian flag was seen at the Paralympics, leading to Ukraine and Australia, among others, choosing not to send their officials to the ceremony held at Verona Arena.

Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Andrii Sybiha, commended Australia for its decision to skip the opening ceremony. He expressed on social media that this action aligns with a “principled decision.”

“The presence of Russian and Belarusian state symbols undermines global efforts to isolate these regimes amidst Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine, which remains unacceptable,” Sybiha stated on X.

In contrast to the Winter Olympics, which were spread across four distinct venues, the Paralympics’ opening ceremony took place solely in Verona.

Russia and Belarus were each represented by two athletes, following the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to invite a total of ten athletes from these countries to compete under their national flags at the Games.

Other countries which boycotted the opening ceremony include Czech Republic, Finland and Poland.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but had been sanctioned since the 2014 Sochi Games due to the country’s state-sponsored doping program.

The countries’ athletes then transitioned to individual neutral athletes at the 2024 Paris Games.

Other disruptions

Severely disrupted global air travel following the US’s joint military strikes with Israel on Iran over the weekend compounded the ceremony’s attendance woes.

Iran’s sole Paralympian Abolfazl Khatibi Mianaei was forced to withdraw from the Games just hours before the opening ceremony as the cross-country skier could not travel safely to Italy, the IPC said.

Giovanni Malago, the head of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic organising committee, called for peace in his address at the opening ceremony, but was not specific.

“Of course, we cannot ignore that these Games take place in a deeply divided world, torn apart by (the) worst grief and suffering at one of the most dramatic turning points of our time,” Malago said.

“For this reason, the message of peace, inclusion and solidarity at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic movement is more meaningful and more important than ever.”

Separately, Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and France were among 29 of the total 55 participating countries who did not send athletes to the ceremony due to a tight turnaround with the competition start.

Australian alpine skier Georgia Gunew is making her Paralympic debut while fellow flag bearer Ben Tudhope opting out of the ceremony due to snowboard cross beginning the following day.

Tudhope is looking to claim an elusive gold medal at his fourth Paralympic appearance, after his bronze in snowboard — and Australia’s only medal — at the 2022 Beijing Games.

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