The Olympic decisionmaking body has previously faced scrutiny over allowing Israel to compete amid its genocide in Gaza.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday that it’s lifting its three-year suspension of Russia, paving the way for Russian athletes to compete in future Olympic Games despite the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The group said in a press release that the decision was made after a “thorough analysis” by its legal arm concluded that the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) no longer includes member groups from territories under the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine’s jurisdiction.
The decision over whether or not to allow the display of the Russian flag and colors or the playing of its anthem will be made at a later date, the IOC said in its release. The committee will continue its ban on organizing events in Russia or inviting Russian officials to events.
This would clear the way for Russian athletes, some of whom have been competing as “Individual Neutral Athletes” amid the ban, to participate in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The decisionmaking body also said that it would take steps to ensure that Russian athletes are subject to anti-doping rules, with Russia having been suspended in 2017 due to a doping scandal.
The IOC originally banned ROC from competition in 2023, citing a violation of the Olympic Charter over its invasion of Ukraine.
Indeed, the decision on Tuesday comes as Russia has continued its near-daily bombing of Ukraine, including civilian centers like its capital Kyiv. Russian forces unleashed a wave of strikes just this weekend, prior to the Turkey NATO summit, that killed at least 21 people. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently estimated that more than 2 million Russian and Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
The IOC sought to clarify that it has not changed its stance on the war.
“We wanted to ensure all athletes have the possibility to compete at the Olympic Games and not be held responsible for their governments’ actions,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry in remarks on Tuesday. “[The decision] allows for Russian athletes to take part in sport competitions, but we’ve also been very clear that we don’t condone any violence and war around the world.”
The IOC has previously faced scrutiny, however, for allowing Israel to compete in the Olympics. Critics have argued that Israel should be similarly banned for conducting strikes and supposedly breaching the Olympic charter amid its genocide in Gaza and in other acts of aggression. Ahead of the 2024 Olympics, Palestine’s delegation requested that Israel be barred, after Israel killed hundreds of athletes and said that Israel was violating Palestine’s territorial integrity.
The IOC denied their request, however, and a spokesperson told Newsweek at the time that “the situation is not comparable” with Russia’s invasion and is instead “the pure realm of politics.”
The IOC also faced scrutiny when it disqualified a Ukrainian athlete from the 2026 Winter Olympics when the skeleton racer, Vladyslav Herskevych, wore a helmet decorated with portraits of Ukrainian athletes killed amid Russia’s invasion. The committee cited Herskevych’s “refusal to comply with the IOC’s guidelines on athlete expression,” referring to a ban on political speech.
The decision comes amid increased criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, a member of the IOC, as soccer fans accuse FIFA of corruption after its latest show of fealty to Trump.
In February, the IOC decided against taking action against Infantino after he agreed that FIFA would invest up to $75 million into President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” plan for Gaza, and his decision to award Trump with a “peace prize,” despite IOC members taking an oath to “always act independently of commercial and political interests.”
The IOC further announced in March that it would be banning trans women from competing in women’s events following false accusations regarding the gender of two female boxers in the 2024 Olympics.
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