Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden have called on the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to reconsider its decisions regarding the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus under their national flags and urged the authorities of IPC member states to consider boycotting the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games, according to a joint statement by these states.

"Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Sweden strongly condemn the recent decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games under their national flags, as well as to allow the display of their anthems and state symbols. This decision undermines international efforts to isolate Russia and Belarus in response to the ongoing war by Russia against Ukraine," reads the joint statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania on Friday.

"We express our full solidarity with Ukraine and its people. We collectively call on the IPC to reconsider its decisions and urge the authorities of member states to consider the possibility of boycotting the opening ceremony of the Games. We support the call of Italy, as the host country of the Games, to the IPC to cancel its decisions, thereby seeking to prevent the display of state symbols of Russia and its accomplice during the Games," the statement says.

"We also condemn the IPC’s decision to ban Ukrainian athletes from wearing uniforms depicting a map of Ukraine. Distorting the map of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders as propaganda is deeply concerning and mocks the principles of international law," the statement notes.

According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, as of March 3, 11 countries—Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Ukraine—along with the EU, have officially announced a boycott of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games.

The decision was made after the International Paralympic Committee allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags and anthems at potential award ceremonies.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) allowed six Russians and four Belarusians to participate in the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy under their own flags. This is the first case since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia that one of the two highest international sports organizations has directly allowed representatives of Russia to display state symbols at competitions.

The 2026 Winter Paralympic Games begin on Friday, March 6. Ukraine has won 25 licenses for them. The Ukrainian team will be represented by 35 Paralympians—25 athletes and 10 guides. Ukrainians will compete in four sports: para-biathlon, para-cross-country skiing, para-alpine skiing, and para-snowboarding.