The decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milan–Cortina Paralympic Games while Russia continues its full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine is disgraceful.
Sport does not take place in a vacuum. Any international decision that normalizes the participation of an aggressor state on the global stage and allows it to break out of isolation sends the message that war and sport can be separated. In reality, they cannot. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed. This is not just a number—behind it stand Olympians, Paralympians, and young talents whose lives and dreams were cut short by Russian bombings and drone attacks.
It is appalling that the International Olympic Committee banned a Ukrainian athlete from competing with a helmet displaying images of Ukrainian athletes killed in the war, on the grounds that sport must remain separate from politics. At the same time, the International Paralympic Committee is willing to allow representatives of the aggressor state to return to the international stage under their national flag. This is a blatant double standard.
Today Ukrainian athletes either train while air raid sirens blare or stand on the front lines defending their country. Ukraine’s Paralympic delegation includes athletes who have lost limbs, mobility, or sight due to missile strikes, artillery fire, landmines, and drones. Forcing them to compete alongside representatives of the aggressor state is morally unacceptable. The international sports community cannot behave as if nothing has happened. The values upon which the Olympic movement was founded—peace, dignity, and respect—must not be mere slogans at an opening ceremony.
Estonia’s position is clear: until Russia ends its aggression and takes responsibility for the crimes it has committed, there can be no talk of normal sports cooperation or a return to the international community.
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