Injured Russian soldiers can compete at ParalympicsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Russian flag has not been flown at a Paralympic Games since 2014ByKatie FalkinghamBBC Sport senior journalist in CortinaPublished53 minutes agoRussian soldiers injured in the war with Ukraine will be allowed to compete at future Paralympic Games, says International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons.An investigation by Poland-based news outlet Vot Tak, as unveiled by the Moscow Times,, external found Russia is fast-tracking injured soldiers into Para-sport.
The Russian Paralympic Committee has reportedly stated that “at least 70” veterans are now competing in national teams.
Parsons was speaking to BBC Sport on the day of the Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in Italy, which is set to be boycotted by seven teams – including Ukraine – over the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Games.
It was unveiled in February that six Russians and four Belarusians will compete at the Paralympics after the IPC lifted the nations’ suspensions last year.
It will mark the first time a Russian flag has been flown at a Paralympics since Sochi 2014.
Asked if the IPC would allow Russians injured in the war to compete at future Games, Parsons stated: “When the general assembly took the decision to lift the suspensions of Russia and Belarus, the decision was to treat them like any other National Paralympic Committee.
“There are many countries that recruit athletes from the armed forces, so if Russia does that, they won’t be the only one.
“We have to remember where we come from. Our movement started after World War Two, specifically with injured military personnel.
“So what the Paralympic movement offers is possibility after war. We are against any war, any conflict, but what we offer is an opportunity for those who are injured in war to be reintegrated into society through sport.
“It doesn’t matter to us what they have done in the past in the combat field. Of course crimes of war are something different, but what we offer with the movement is a second chance.”
