Para alpine skiers Voronchikhina and Bugaev give Russia its first Paralympic medals in 12 years

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Para alpine skiers Varvara Voronchikhina and Aleksei Bugaev won Russia's first Paralympic medals since 2014 on Saturday by taking bronze in their respective races — the women's and men's downhill standing competition.

Russian athletes are back competing under their own flag in the Winter Paralympics at Milan Cortina — after years of having to do so as neutral athletes because of the country’s doping violations and military conflicts.

Voronchikhina raced in the discipline for visually impaired athletes and Bugaev in the discipline for athletes with impairment in one arm.

“For us, it’s a really long time when we (were) without (the) flag, and I’m really glad and all my country and all my teammates, we (are) glad also,” said Voronchikhina, who is expected to be competing for the gold in other races at Milan Cortina.

Russia’s national anthem could be played for gold medalists for the first time on the stage of a major global sporting event since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Ukraine's anthem did play Saturday as the nation won six medals on the first day, including three gold.

Russian athletes were initially banned because of a state-sponsored doping program, and the sanctions had continued after the invasion.

“I’m happy, I suppose. First medal for me, for Russia, since 2014 from Sochi,” Bugaev said. “I won the medal for my country, for Russia. I’m happy to represent my country.”

Two other Russian athletes competed on Saturday in Para snowboarding: Filipp Shebbo and Dmitrii Fadeev.

“It was perfect," Shebbo said. “A good moment for Russia, for the athletes. Hopefully this will continue. We had been waiting for this for a long time.”

The Russian flag made its official return during the nations’ parade in Friday's opening ceremony in Verona, marking the first time it was flown at the Paralympics since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, and signaling a possible full-fledged return to the Olympic circles ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The Russian national anthem for a gold medal win has not been heard at any Olympics or Paralympics since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.

There were some boos heard at the Arena di Verona when the Russian athletes entered the stage during the parade.

Voronchikhina said the Russians have been treated well by everyone so far in Italy.

“It’s really good,” she said. “And in the village all good and good atmosphere and good conditions.”

Voronchikhina did not want to talk about possibly competing against Ukrainian athletes.

Russia arrived at Milan Cortina with six athletes. The International Paralympic Committee gave wildcard entries to Russian athletes, a decision that upset Ukraine and a few other nations that boycotted the opening ceremony on Friday.

Ukraine won its six medals all in Para biathlon.

“Glory to Ukraine. I’m really happy and I would like to dedicate my victory to all the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army because nowadays in Ukraine it’s difficult times," said Oleksandra Kononova, who won gold in women’s sprint standing. “We have a war and Ukraine is fighting. We are also trying to represent Ukraine as much as we can. I’m really happy that today I have a gold medal so we will have the anthem of Ukraine here.”

Liudmyla Liashenko was a bronze medalist in the women's sprint standing.

“We are honored to represent Ukraine here and we are very thankful to our army protecting Ukraine right now," she said. "We also honor all the athletes and warriors who have died in this war.”

AP Winter Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

The Russian flag is hoisted during the medal ceremony for the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition in which Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, won the bronze medal, at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Italian soldiers fold the Russian flag after the medal ceremony for the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition in which Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, won the bronze medal, at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, waves from the podium after winning the bronze medal in the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, reacts after competing in the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, reacts after competing in the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Aleksei Bugaev, of Russia, reacts after competing in the alpine skiing men's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Varvara Voronchikhina, of Russia, competes in the alpine skiing women's downhill standing competition at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil surged higher and showed no signs of halting its rapid climb a week after the U.S. and Israel launched major attacks on Iran that escalated into a war in the Middle East.

The conflict, in which nearly every country in the Middle East has sustained damage from missiles or drone strikes, has left ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.

The disruption and damage to key oil and gas facilities in the Middle East has led to an interruption in the supply of oil and gas.

Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel Friday, with American crude settling at $90.90, up 36% from a week ago, and Brent, the international standard, climbing 27% over the course of the week to land at $92.69.

The fallout is ratcheting up what consumers and business will pay for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, with some drivers already feeling it at the pump.

“It’s crazy. It’s not needed, especially at a time when people are already struggling, but not unexpected from all this turmoil that’s going on,” said Mark Doran, who was pumping gas in Middlebury, Vermont Friday. “I don’t think there’s been an end in sight to any Middle East conflict that’s been started by us, so the fact that they say that there’s going to be an end that quickly is not believable, and the Middle East is, you know, a place that the U.S. is not going to solve.”

On Monday, President Donald Trump said that the U.S. expected its military operations against Iran to last four to five weeks but has “ the capability to go far longer.” And on Friday, Trump appeared to rule out talks with Iran absent its “unconditional surrender.”

“The more news we get, the more it seems like this is going to last a really long time,” said Al Salazar, head of macro oil and gas research at Enverus.

In the U.S., a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.41 on Saturday, up about 43 cents from a week ago, according to AAA motor club. Diesel was selling for $4.51 a gallon Saturday, up about 75 cents from last week.

The price shocks were felt even more heavily in Europe and Asia, markets that rely more heavily on energy supplies from the Middle East. Diesel prices doubled in Europe, and jet fuel prices rose by close to 200% in Asia, according to Claudio Galimberti, chief economist at Rystad Energy.

Energy prices climbed throughout the week as Iran launched a series of retaliatory attacks, including a drone strike on the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, and the conflict widened. Iran also hit a major refinery in Saudi Arabia and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Qatar, halting flows of refined products and taking about 20% of the world’s LNG supply offline.

“We keep seeing news of vessels being hit or refineries or pipelines, so the list is very long,” Galimberti said. As a result, roughly 9 million barrels of oil per day are off the market because of facilities being hit or producers taking precautionary measures, he said. “Right now, with all of this shut in, we are in a situation of extreme deficit.”

The U.S. is a net exporter of oil, but that does not mean it is immune to increases in the price of oil or gasoline, or that its producers can just make up the difference.

Oil is traded on global markets, so even the oil produced in the U.S. has risen in price based on what's happening in the Middle East. And for many American oil producers, "if you put more wells in the ground, there’s about a six-month lag before you get that production uplift," Salazar said.

In addition, the U.S. can't simply turn all of its crude oil into gasoline. That's because most of the oil produced in the U.S. is light, sweet crude, and refineries on the East and West coasts are primarily designed to process heavier, sour crude. As a result, the U.S. exports some of its crude oil and imports some refined products such as gasoline.

Jerry Dalpiaz of Covington, Louisiana, said he started filling up his cars and gas cans on “the day that they announced that the United States has started military operations against Iran" because he assumed gas prices would climb.

“I can weather the storm because I’m in good financial position, but I feel sorry for my fellow citizens who are living paycheck to paycheck because they have to drive to get to work and they have to change their oil and all those things,” Dalpiaz said. "And they need some relief and it doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon.”

Trump issued a plan Friday to insure losses up to approximately $20 billion in the Gulf region, aiming to restore confidence in maritime trade, help stabilize international commerce and support American and allied businesses operating in the Middle East.

But some energy experts said extra insurance won't solve the problem.

“The problem is that in the oil trading, oil shipping world, people are worried about counterterrorism,” said Amy Jaffe, director of the Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab at New York University, adding that they're worried about automated drone speedboats, weapon-carrying, flying drones and mines or other devices. "In order for the United States to create the atmosphere that undoes the current bottleneck at the Strait of Hormuz, there has to be some credible demonstration of solutions to the counter-terrorism problem.”

Salazar wondered what the “new normal” would look like if the Strait of Hormuz was effectively re-opened, and what effective security would look like.

“All it takes is one individual with a RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) to stand on the shore and take out a tanker, right?” Salazar said. “And this is forever, do you know what I mean?”

Associated Press journalists Amanda Swinhart in Middlebury, Vermont, Stephen Smith in Covington, Louisiana and Stan Choe in New York contributed to this report.

Gas prices are manually increased in Beverly Hills, Calif., Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)