Valerii Sushkevych, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine

On March 6, 2026, the Winter Paralympic Games will open in Milan, Italy.

In total, the “blue-and-yellows” have secured 25 quota places for the 2026 Paralympic Games. Ukraine will therefore be represented by 35 members of the delegation — 25 Paralympic athletes and 10 guides.

Ukrainians competitors will take part in four sports: para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para alpine skiing, and para snowboarding.

The 25 quota places mark the strongest result in Ukraine’s history at the Winter Paralympic Games. Previously, the team’s largest representation came at the 2014 Paralympics, when 23 athletes competed for the country in three sports.

Ukraine will be represented in alpine skiing for the first time since 2014, and in snowboarding for the first time since 2018.

The most experienced members of the team are Oleksandra Kononova, Hryhorii Vovchynskyi, and Oksana Shyshkova  all of whom also competed at the Vancouver 2010 Games.

With what sporting — and broader — ambitions is Ukraine’s Paralympic team heading to the Games? How did our athletes prepare amid war, and what proved to be critical in that process? Will Ukrainian Paralympians have their own “helmet,” and why were they barred at the last moment from wearing patriotic ceremonial attire?

In the days leading up to the Paralympics, Ukrinform spoke with Valerii Sushkevych, President of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine.

Q: What are the team’s expectations ahead of the Paralympics?

A: Generally speaking, the main thing is participation, not victory. But as a national Paralympic team, we always go to compete to win for Ukraine. That has been our philosophy since the very beginning of our Paralympic history.

At the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta — the first Games for independent Ukraine — we did not even expect to win a single medal. Yet we claimed one medal, and it was gold. At that time, we ranked 44th in the world. Today, Today, we stand among the leaders, alongside China, Great Britain, and the United States.

So if we set ourselves the goal of winning — and we always do — then we are heading to Milan-Cortina with that same purpose: to raise the Ukrainian flag in fair and honest competition, just as we have always done.

As you know, I never make predictions before a Paralympics. Forecasts can never be fully reliable. But I do know this: the team prepared under extraordinarily difficult — critically difficult — conditions. And they prepared to win.

Q: Was it difficult to prepare amid war?

A: It was difficult, indeed. The war is the central factor complicating our preparations. Around 800 sports facilities in Ukraine have been fully or partially destroyed. Training camps are the foundation of any preparation program. But when ballistic missiles or deadly drones can strike at any moment, preparation becomes extremely challenging.

There is also a profound emotional burden. Our athletes often train abroad, far from their families, while their loved ones remain in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, or Volyn — under constant shelling. In such circumstances, every athlete naturally wants to be beside their child, their parents, their family. Being separated under these conditions can critically affect the training process.

Q: What is the current situation with government funding?

A:  Since the start of the full-scale invasion, our budget has been cut by half compared to pre-war levels. Funding for Paralympic preparation is substantially lower. I will not cite exact figures — the issue is not about absolute numbers.

Q: Then what is the core issue?

A: The issue is that four years ago, when the full-scale war began and we arrived in China for the 2022 Winter Paralympics, the Russian and Belarusian teams were already there, as if nothing had happened.

We did everything possible — and perhaps even impossible — to consolidate the global community and compel the International Paralympic Committee to remove those representatives of the aggressor state from the Beijing Games. They were forced to leave. At that time, the world understood how disgraceful it was to launch a full-scale war aimed at destroying a European country during the Paralympic Games.

Today, however, we see a growing — indeed escalating — leniency toward the aggressor state among international sporting bodies, including both the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Consider football and FIFA, for example. We once welcomed the FIFA president at the highest level. Yet now he clearly follows this broader trend of increasing tolerance toward the aggressor.

What is most troubling is that while Europe urgently strengthens its defenses against Russia — investing heavily in security and warning its citizens of potential danger — the International Paralympic Committee is simultaneously opening the doors of Europe to six Russian and four Belarusian Paralympic representatives, and doing so outside its own established regulations.

Q:: How will Ukrainian Paralympians respond to the presence of Russians and Belarusians? Are there specific guidelines?

A:There are no special instructions. Since 2014, our conduct — not only in sport — has been consistent. At every Paralympics, we have worked to unite the world around Ukraine.

There has always been a dual mission for us. First, the sporting mission: to raise the Ukrainian flag and achieve victories for Ukraine. Second, the moral and civic mission: to unite the world around Ukraine, to stand for peace, and to oppose the aggressor’s presence within what is often described as the most humane sporting movement in the world — the Paralympic movement, an achievement of human civilization.

I cannot say what specific actions we may take. We are not preparing a “helmet” (a reference to the protest by Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych at the 2026 Olympics — ed.).

Q: What uniform will the team wear?

A: We prepared a ceremonial uniform for our delegation. However, the International Paralympic Committee rejected it, labeling it political and stating that we would not be allowed to appear in it.

The design was beautiful and highly symbolic. It clearly emphasized that Ukraine exists — in Europe and in the world — with all its territories, without occupation.

Q: Did it feature a map of a united Ukraine?

A: You could say that. The map was stylized within the design. It was created by the renowned Ukrainian designer Viktor Anisimov, who also designed our uniform for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

In Paris, our uniforms included subtle military accents — alongside blue and yellow, there was a color associated with our defenders on the frontline. Approval was delayed, but we succeeded in securing it.

This time, our approach was more assertive. That assertiveness reflects the growing leniency toward Russia following the Paris Games. There are officials within the Paralympic movement who seek to prevent Ukraine from presenting itself as a country free from occupation or from competing in attire that reflects its struggle against the aggressor.

Q:Did you have to produce a new uniform?

A: Yes. We barely managed to do so in time. The new uniforms were urgently transported by bus to Italy, where our team is already based. We could have dressed our athletes in the previously prepared uniform here at home — but it was banned. That is the reality.

Q: How are Ukrainian Paralympians received internationally?

A: Very warmly — exceptionally warmly. Representatives from all continents approach us in solidarity: Americans, Canadians, Germans, Britons, Japanese, Koreans, Australians — practically everyone.

In Paris, we were perhaps the most visible and welcomed delegation. From French government officials to the Mayor of Paris, we were repeatedly invited to special events honoring both our athletes and Ukraine.

Q: We wish our team success at the 2026 Winter Paralympics — and Glory to Ukraine!

A: Thank you very much! Heroes of Glory!

Pavlo Balkovskyi led this conversation, Kyiv

Photos via paralympic.org.ua and the Ukrinform archive