The Russian Embassy called insulting statements by Italian ministers about the Paralympians.

The statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy Antonio Tajani and the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Italy Andrea Abodi against the participation of athletes from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games are rude and insulting. This was announced on February 19 at the Russian Embassy in Rome.

"No one doubts that the field of Paralympic sports requires special delicacy, tact, humanity and kindness. The rude and undiplomatic steps of two Italian politicians hiding behind the authority of their government are insulting and require universal condemnation," the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram channel.

The Russian diplomatic mission stressed that such statements are "all the more unacceptable" from the leadership of the country entrusted with hosting the XXV Winter Olympic Games. Such speeches, as they added in the text, violate the principles of the Olympic Charter, according to which sport should be put at the service of human development and the creation of a peaceful society.

Pavel Rozhkov, head of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), announced two days earlier that six Russian athletes had received bilateral invitations to participate in the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. On February 18, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games in protest against the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in full-fledged competitions.

The next day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Ukraine's refusal to participate in the Paralympic Games wrong. He said that Moscow has always adhered to the position that sport should never become a victim of politics, therefore, it categorically disagrees with this approach.

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