The winner of the PKR Batalova Prize declared the impossibility of breaking the Russian Paralympians

State Duma deputy and 13-time Paralympic champion Rima Batalova said on May 22 that Russian Paralympians cannot be broken — these are people who know what it means to return to life.

"We Paralympians are constantly coming back to life after injuries. I had surgery and my legs were restored, my eyesight was restored, and even after my spine was fractured, I got back on the sports arena and won gold medals for the country," she told TASS.

Batalova added that Paralympians continue to struggle in political life.

"It's impossible to break us — we strive for our guys to perform, the anthem to be played, and everyone to live under a peaceful sky," the champion emphasized.

The Magnificent six: the Russian national team is the third in the medal standings of the 2026 Paralympics

Our team takes away eight awards of the highest dignity from Italy with the most truncated composition.

Mikhail Degtyarev, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation and head of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), noted on the same day that Russian Paralympians Oksana Savchenko and Mikhail Lysov, by their example, support veterans of the special military operation (SVO) who were injured. He also said that since the beginning of the year, 227 Russian athletes have competed in international competitions under the Russian flag and anthem at 22 tournaments, winning 117 medals, 59 of which are gold.