The Russian and Belarusian flags are flying again in world sport – and even on German soil: The Para World Cup for cross-country skiers in the tranquil village of Finsterau with 500 souls will be the stage for the return of the two warmongering countries.
17 athletes are competing from Russia, which began a war of aggression against the entire Ukraine in February 2022 that violated international law. Belarus, which supports Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been arrested for war crimes, has nine athletes at the start. The athletes want to secure tickets for the Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo through the back door from Wednesday (January 14, 2026) at the competitions in the Bavarian Forest.
The outrage is huge. Unlike in Olympic sports, the Russians and Belarusians are not starting as neutral athletes, but for the first time in years under their own flag. It is “to be accepted,” said Idriss Gonschinska, board member of the German Sports Association for the Disabled (DBS), gritting his teeth, “but it contradicts our basic moral and ethical stance, our sporting values - and from our point of view it is unreasonable, especially for the participants from Ukraine.”
At the beginning of December 2025, the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) partially upheld lawsuits from Russia and Belarus against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation FIS. Accordingly, Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to start again in accordance with the rules of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Since the General Assembly of the IPC completely unexpectedly lifted the suspensions of both countries at the end of September, they are officially returning to the sports community.
Doubts about Classification and Doping controls
“Nothing has changed” since the war of aggression began in February 2022, complained DBS President Hans-Jörg Michels: “It was a blatant breach of the unwritten law of the Olympic and Paralympic peace, which was previously respected worldwide.”
There are also “doubts about the transparency of the classification and the reliability of the doping controls in recent years, especially since Russia was already conspicuous for systematic doping before the exclusion. A verifiably fair and doping-free sport is essential for us.”
Numerous Paralympics champion at the start
Russia is competing in Finsterau with numerous former Paralympics winners and ex-world champions and is likely to shake up the world elite straight away. The allocation of quota places for the Paralympics (March 6 to 15) in Italy has been completed. But participation through the back door is possible.
This requires ranking points at the January World Cup in Bavaria and a week later in Szklarska Poreba-Jakuszyce, Poland.