Will Russian athletes compete at Winter Paralympics? Are the RPC banned from competing at Beijing 2022 Games

Russian president Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last week and the invasion has continued to escalate since.

As a result, various sports teams in Russia are feeling the impact of their country’s actions, with their situation ahead of the 2022 Winter Paralympics becoming increasingly unclear.

FIFA and UEFA are the latest to take action, banning Russian football clubs and national teams from all of their competitions ‘until further notice’.

This means the national football team won’t be able to play in their World Cup play-off matches next month, while Spartak Moscow have been kicked out of the Europa League.

The Winter Paralympics are due to kick off in Beijing this Friday and Ukraine have confirmed their full team will compete.

However, there has been a lot of uncertainty over whether the Russian athletes will be able to participate.

Will Russian athletes be banned from the Winter Paralympics?

The International Olympic Committee are coming under increasing pressure to ban Russia from the Winter Paralympics.

The IOC executive board recommended on Monday that international sports federations should exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes, teams and officials from international competitions wherever possible.

They also took the decision to withdraw the Olympic Order from all persons who currently have an important function of the Russian Federation, including Putin.

With only three days to go until the Winter Paralympics begin, the International Paralympic Committee are now set to meet tomorrow (Wednesday) to make a decision on whether the Russian athletes will be able to compete in Beijing.

If they refuse to ban the Russians then it is expected that a number of nations will refuse to compete against them in a stance of solidarity with Ukraine.