Polish television refused to show Russians at the 2026 Paralympics

During the coverage of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games in Italy, the Polish television company Telewizja Polska intends to ignore the performances of athletes from Russia and Belarus. This was reported by the Polish Onet portal.

Instead of showing their participation in the broadcast, a splash screen will appear with the inscription: "Solidarity with Ukraine."

According to the publication, this measure is a protest against the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under the national flag and anthem. All TVP group channels broadcasting the Games will be required to interrupt the broadcast and replace the video sequence with the above phrase every time representatives of Russia or Belarus appear in the frame.

In addition, the TV company plans to exclude the screening of the Russian delegation during the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics. A special procedure is also provided for awards: if Polish and Russian athletes are on the podium at the same time, the broadcast will be stopped until flags are raised and anthems are played.

At the moment, six Russian athletes have received official invitations to the games. It is expected that they will perform using national symbols — this will happen for the first time since 2014.

The Great Return: Russian Paralympians allowed to perform with a flag

The International Paralympic Committee lifted restrictions for Russians, coming into conflict with the IOC

On March 4, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga posted on his page on the social network X (ex. Twitter) reported that representatives of Germany joined the boycott of the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. The Ukrainian minister welcomed Germany's decision and added that the European Union and 11 countries had already announced a boycott of the ceremony.

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