He added he "hopes the preparation stage went well" and that "we may hope for a successful performance in Sochi".

The team will be twice as large as that which attended the Games in Vancouver four years ago - when Russia still managed to finish second to Germany in the medal table with 38 medals, including 12 gold.

They were all earned in Nordic skiing events, with sit-skier Irek Zaripov leading the way with four titles in both biathlon and cross-country skiing, while Sergey Shilov and Kirill Mikhaylov each secured three.

After winning four gold medals in biathlon and cross-country skiing at Vancouver 2010, Irek Zaripov will be back to lead the home charge in Sochi ©Getty Images


After continuing their dominance on the circuit so far this winter - with Russia securing wins in all six races on one day at the World Cup Finals in Oberried in Germany earlier this month - there are hopes for medals to be also won in other Paralympic disciplines.

But, as when he announced the Olympic team last week, Mutko refused to set a specific medals target for Russia's Paralympians.

"It's wrong to set targets for the Paralympic team, and we don't do that," he said.

"In recent years, we are leading in many sports, but the competition is very high and the struggle for medals will be serious."

The 11th Paralympic Winter Games are due to begin on March 7 and continue until March 16, with 692 Para-athletes from 47 countries expected to compete in Sochi across the four sports of Alpine and Nordic skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.