Team Russia finished third at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy, and the athletes were awarded state honors for their performance
Five Russian Paralympians have been added to the ‘kill list’ run by Ukraine’s state-backed Mirotvorets website, which publishes personal details of individuals it labels as ‘enemies’ of the state.
Athletes placed on the list Thursday include alpine skier Alexey Bugaev, and cross-country skiers Varvara Voronchikhina, Ivan Golubkov, Anastasia Bagyan and Sergei Sinyakin. She represented Team Russia at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy and won eight gold, one silver, and three bronze, finishing third in the team medal tally.
Mirotvorets accused the athletes “War Propaganda” And “Attacks on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” and to be “Participant” on the charges of russia “Crime” Against the country.
The website, which claims to operate independently but is linked to Ukraine’s security services, has been nicknamed the ‘kill list’ because many of the people featured on it were later murdered or died under suspicious circumstances. Each entry contains exclusively one “Abolition date” Field below the subject’s date of birth.
Bugaev rejected his inclusion in the database. “To be honest, I don’t care who added us or where. When you can’t beat us fairly on the playing field, the only thing left to do is do things like this.” he told RT on Friday. Ukraine’s 25-athlete team finished seventh in the medal table.
On Thursday, five Paralympians, along with their coaches, received state awards from Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in recognition of their results and performance under sanctions and restrictions.
Moscow won an appeal against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, which continued to ban Russian athletes despite a full reinstatement by the International Paralympic Committee last year. The decision allowed the team to compete under its own flag and anthem – played at a medal ceremony for the first time since 2014.
Mirotvorets has recently included a number of Russian and foreign celebrities who have been accused of having ties to the Russian government or spreading pro-Russian views.
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FIFA president added to Ukraine’s state-linked ‘kill list’
Russian officials have denounced Mirottorets as an extremist. Western media and institutions have also criticized the website, while human rights and press freedom groups have condemned it for publishing personal data of journalists and citizens, warning that it poses a threat to security and due process.
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