Ukraine's Olympic Committee challenges IOC's move to readmit Russia
Ukraine's National Olympic Committee has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the IOC's decision to temporarily restore Russia's participation in Olympic events.
On 7 July 2026 the International Olympic Committee announced that the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, imposed in 2023 because of the war in Ukraine, would be lifted, opening the path for Russian athletes to represent Russia at the 2028 Olympic Games. In response, Ukraine's National Olympic Committee lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming the IOC acted too quickly and without verifying that the infractions prompting the original ban had been remedied.
The Ukrainian NOC highlighted a 2024 CAS decision that upheld the suspension, noting that the presence of sports organisations from temporarily occupied Ukrainian regions violates both Ukraine's territorial integrity and the Olympic Charter. It warned that reinstating Russia without addressing these issues could set a harmful precedent for the Olympic movement. Russian and Belarusian athletes have previously competed as neutrals in Paris 2024 and Milan-Cortina 2026, while other bans remain in place in football and athletics.
Why it matters
The dispute could affect the composition of future Olympic Games and set precedents for how sport bodies handle geopolitical conflicts.
In this story