BERLIN - Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete at the Paris Paralympics in 2024 under a neutral flag, after officials voted on Friday against an outright ban.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to partially suspend the Russian and Belarusian National Paralympic Committees for two years due to “breaches of constitutional membership obligations.”

That decision means both nations can take part in Paris “in an individual and neutral capacity” without national flags, colours or emblems - a move strongly condemned by Ukraine.

The vote on an outright ban on Russian athletes narrowly failed, with 74 opposed, 65 in favour and 13 abstentions.

The decision was made at the IPC, in its General Assembly in Manama, Bahrain.

Russia and its ally Belarus have been suspended from Paralympic competition since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

As a result, athletes from both nations were barred from taking part in the Winter Paralympics in Beijing in March 2022.

Ukraine later on Friday criticised the IPC’s decision, arguing this would “prolong the war”.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in a post on social media that the decision “prolongs the war, and secondly, provokes Russia to increase the levels of mass violence in Ukraine.”

Mr Andrew Parsons, president of the IPC, said that the organisation was “very firm believers that sport and politics should not mix”.

The decision comes two weeks before an International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai where the organisation is expected to discuss the participation of Russia and Belarus at the Paris Olympics next year.

The IOC has previously stated a decision on allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2024 Games will be made “at the appropriate time”.

The Russian Olympic Committee said earlier in September it would not boycott the Paris Games and that Russians were free to compete in the Olympics as neutrals.

“Boycotting the Games leads to nowhere,” Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said.

“We live together in a free state. Every person can, if they so wish, take the path” of competing under a neutral banner, Mr Pozdnyakov said.

Pozdnyakov criticised the existing recommendations as “prohibitive in nature”, saying the rules “will not allow a large number of our athletes to take part in the Olympic Games.”

The United Nations in July documented 9,000 civilian deaths since the start of the war in Ukraine, including 500 children, although it estimates the real toll could be significantly higher. AFP