News – Russian Government

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko chaired the first meeting of the interdepartmental commission on the development of physical culture and sports among persons with disabilities resulting from participation in a special military operation (SVO) and other armed conflicts.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the interdepartmental commission was created in accordance with the order of the Chairman of the Government Mikhail Mishustin.

“President Vladimir Putin declared 2025 the Year of Defender of the Fatherland. It is extremely important to create equal conditions and ensure that the adaptation of our children, participants of the SVO, is effective. This work needs to be carried out systematically, receiving information from the Ministry of Defense, and from local deputies, and from the Popular Front. I thank everyone who is proactively involved in these tasks. Last year, the Cup of Defenders of the Fatherland took place, which brought together more than 800 participants, including veterans of the Northern Military District. The share of sports facilities adapted for activities by persons with disabilities today is more than 30%. It is necessary to increase their number and scale up their practices,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasized the need to continue the work of the thematic hotline launched by the Ministry of Sports and the Paralympic Committee. Along with State Services, it should become a channel for collecting feedback.

The Deputy Chairman of the Government added that in his message to the Federal Assembly, the President instructed the Government to ensure the construction of at least 350 sports facilities in small towns annually until 2030. They will be created in accordance with new standards and with a focus on accessibility.

It is important to provide high-quality medical support and develop recommendations that will allow children to choose suitable activities taking into account their health status.

The Ministry of Sports needs to use modern technologies and create a section on the basis of the “My Sport” domain (moisport.ru) indicating sports facilities suitable for activities by persons with disabilities resulting from participation in the Northern Military District and other armed conflicts, as well as the ability to sign up for such classes , keep a register of sports achievements and unite into teams.

In addition, it is planned to take the work to the international level in order to organize cooperation with veterans from friendly countries and increase the level of respect for our heroes and athletes.

The Paralympic Committee, with the support of the Healthy Fatherland movement, Russian Railways and the Unified Gambling Regulator, holds competitions for SVO participants in sledge hockey, sitting volleyball, and amputee football with the symbolic name “Heroes of Our Time.” It is planned to further develop events under this brand.

In February, in the Year of Defender of the Fatherland, the first nomination will be awarded to participants in a special military operation who have shown serious athletic results.

“We must unite our efforts to achieve the goals set by the President and life itself. The intensity of our work needs to be increased, because we see: the longer the hostilities go on, the closer their end is. Our main task is to be proactive and speed up not just the implementation of projects and state programs for rehabilitation, but the creation of a rehabilitation environment, an ecosystem in which everyone will be involved. This requires flexible and at the same time large-scale solutions at all levels – from ideas and goals to infrastructure and sensitive monitoring programs for the situation. I thank Dmitry Chernyshenko for starting this great work, for supporting our initiatives in the field of adaptive sports, developed as part of the work of the State Duma working group to increase the accessibility of TSR,” noted Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Anna Kuznetsova.

Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev emphasized that the tasks set by the President of Russia take the development of adaptive sports to a new level.

“Today more than 30 thousand sports facilities are equipped with specialized equipment. New structures are designed taking into account the requirements of an accessible environment, and at least 350 such facilities are commissioned annually. Funding for adaptive sports is growing: 156 million rubles in subsidies have been allocated for 2025, and the total amount of support exceeds 1.6 billion rubles annually. Particular attention is paid to participants in a special military operation. Together with the Paralympic Committee, the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation, sports federations and other organizations, we are working on their integration into sports. 11 pilot events have already been held, including training and competitions, and in March 2025 a major event will take place – the first All-Russian Cup of Defenders of the Fatherland in winter sports,” said Mikhail Degtyarev.

According to him, the key areas remain the creation of accessible infrastructure, the opening of educational centers in all regions and the introduction of a new standard of physical rehabilitation. These steps are aimed at improving the quality of life, improving health and full integration into society.

“More than half of the servicemen who were seriously wounded remain within the perimeter of the Ministry of Defense and continue to serve. Our task is to involve them in sports, in resocialization through sports. The facilities of the Central Army Sports Club have a well-organized training base. In accordance with the decision of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, work has been organized and carried out in the Armed Forces to develop adaptive and Paralympic sports. A “road map” has been developed for the development of adaptive physical culture and sports for military personnel who received severe injuries during the military training. For this purpose, it is planned to create a center for the development of adaptive and Paralympic sports within the structure of CSKA. It will unite all veterans of the Northern Military District and other local wars and conflicts,” emphasized Secretary of State – Deputy Minister of Defense Anna Tsivileva.

According to her, the experience of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation shows that playing sports is one of the most effective ways of rehabilitation and resocialization of Northern Military District veterans who have been seriously wounded. Together with the Ministry of Sports, the Paralympic Committee and regional authorities, the organization is launching various projects in the field of adaptive sports. The Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation provides heroes with sports prosthetics and wheelchairs.

With such support, many heroes are actively involved in professional sports. 300 special operation veterans were included in the national teams of 45 regions. There are defenders who performed excellently at the Russian championships and joined the national teams in sitting volleyball, kayaking and canoeing, and wheelchair fencing.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev, State Secretary – Deputy Minister of Defense Anna Tsivileva, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly Anna Kuznetsova, President of the Russian Paralympic Committee Pavel Rozhkov, President of the All-Russian public organization of disabled people “All-Russian Sports Federation of Deaf Sports” Dmitry Rebrov, Governor of the Tula region Dmitry Milyaev, as well as representatives of the Federation Council, State Duma, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Medical and Biological Agency, public associations and the expert community.