The President recognized the medalists of the Games in Italy with state awards and emphasized the importance of their victories during the war
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with the national Paralympic team, which triumphed at the Winter Games in Italy. The head of state awarded orders and medals to athletes who, despite the pressure from international organizations and the war at home, managed to elevate Ukraine to the top of the global standings.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Office of the President.
Also read: “This will be a lesson for them”: the head of the IPC made a scandalous statement about the Ukrainian team at the Paralympics
Pride and gratitude
During the celebrations, Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the success of Ukrainians was a response to the unjust decision of the International Paralympic Committee to allow Russians to compete.
“None of this broke you, and that is the main thing. You are stronger than all of this. At these Games, our flag was raised high again. It is important that our anthem of Ukraine sounded victorious once more. All of this unites Ukrainians around two emotions: pride and gratitude,” the head of state emphasized.
Medal harvest in Italy
The Ukrainian team concluded the Paralympics-2026 in third place for the total number of medals. The “blue and yellow” team secured 19 medals:
- 3 gold
- 8 silver
- 8 bronze
The main heroes of the competitions were representatives of parabiathlon and cross-country skiing. In particular, Oleksandra Kononova won 5 medals, Taras Rad earned 4 medals, and Oleksandr Kazik, along with his guide Serhiy Kucheryavyi, brought home one gold and two silver medals for the country.
State awards for the heroes
For their significant contribution to the development of sports and their will to win, Zelensky recognized the athletes and their coaches:
- orders “For Merit” of I-III degrees
- orders “For Courage” of III degree
- orders of Princess Olga of II-III degrees
- orders of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of V degree
- medals “For Labor and Valor”
- honorary titles “Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports”
It is worth noting that the Paralympic Games took place from March 6 to 15, and Ukraine ranked a high seventh place in the overall standings among more than 40 participating countries.
Earlier, an investigation by the GUR established which Russian Paralympians killed Ukrainians and stormed our cities.
