The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced that Russian sports teams, including the national ice hockey team, will not be allowed to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. This decision is part of ongoing sanctions introduced after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The clarification comes in response to reports from Russia about alleged negotiations between the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) regarding a potential admission of the national team to the Games.
“The IOC Executive Board's recommendation from March 2023 regarding the participation of athletes with a Russian passport remains in effect. This decision is based on the fact that a group of individual neutral athletes cannot be recognized as a team. We acknowledge that the IIHF has confirmed its commitment to follow this recommendation,” the IOC stated, as quoted by Reuters.
In October 2023, the IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for violating the Olympic Charter. The suspension followed Russia’s recognition of so-called regional Olympic councils in the occupied Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
“Such actions violate the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, which is recognized by the IOC,” the committee said at the time.
Despite the strict restrictions, some athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but only after thorough vetting and exclusively under neutral status—without flag, anthem, or national symbols.
