The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has initiated an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee. The appeal challenges the July 7 decision that lifted the suspension imposed on the Russian body in October 2023.
The Ukrainian committee argued that the IOC’s decision was premature and made without verifying whether the underlying violations had been addressed. It stated that reinstating the Russian Olympic Committee’s rights without eliminating these violations is incompatible with international sports law and sets a dangerous precedent.
The original suspension was triggered by the Russian Olympic Committee’s recognition of regional sports organizations in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. The Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed the legality of this suspension in 2024. The IOC’s recent decision to lift the ban was based on a legal commission analysis concluding that the Russian committee no longer includes these regional organizations as members.
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev welcomed the IOC’s move, stating it should facilitate the full return of Russian athletes to international competition. However, unlike Belarusian athletes whose national flag and anthem were fully restored in early May, Russian competitors remain unable to compete under national symbols.
Resistance to the reinstatement extends beyond Ukraine. Estonia, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Sweden, Romania, Finland, and Denmark submitted a proposal to European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef. The group seeks to exclude sports organizations that allow Russian and Belarusian entities back into international competitions from EU support programs.
Russia’s participation in the Olympic movement has been restricted since 2016, initially due to a state doping program and later following the invasion of Ukraine. The IOC recommended barring Russian and Belarusian athletes in late February 2022, before allowing them to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes in March 2023 under strict conditions.
In December, the IOC recommended that international federations readmit Russian and Belarusian athletes under 23. By May 7, the IOC Executive Board said it no longer recommended restrictions on Belarusian athletes and teams. The extent of Russian athlete participation now varies by sport, depending on the specific rules of individual international federations.