The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland over the reinstatement of the Russian Olympic Committee as an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member.
The IOC had suspended its Russian member in 2023, as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine the prior year, but then lifted that suspension and ban – provisionally – earlier in July. At the time, it said that the ROC was being reinstated because the body had accepted that it did not control sporting bodies in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine (such claims by the ROC, originally, had contravened IOC statutes).
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Now, however, the national Olympic committee of Ukraine has said the decision by the IOC to lift the suspension "was made prematurely," and that reinstating the ROC as an IOC member "is incompatible with the principles of international sports law and sets a dangerous precedent for the entire Olympic movement."
The ban meant that athletes from both Russia and Belarus – the latter nation provided material support to Russia during the Ukraine invasion – had to compete as neutrals at both the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics earlier this year.
Now that the ban is lifted, Russian and Belarusian athletes are much closer to being able to compete under their own national flags at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The NOC of Ukraine officially lodged its appeal with CAS yesterday.
In full, the body said in a statement: "The position of the NOC of Ukraine is based on the fact that the IOC's decision was made prematurely and without proper verification of whether the violations – which led to the suspension of the ROC following the appeal by the NOC of Ukraine on October 6, 2023 – had actually been resolved.
"The NOC of Ukraine also points out that as early as 2024, CAS confirmed the legality of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, recognising that the inclusion of sports organisations from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine and the provisions of the Olympic Charter.
"For this reason, the Ukrainian side believes that reinstating the ROC's rights without effectively addressing these violations is incompatible with the principles of international sports law and sets a dangerous precedent for the entire Olympic movement."
Many of the world's most significant sporting governing bodies still have the Russian associations for those particular sports either suspended or fully banned.
When the IOC provisionally lifted its suspension earlier this month, certain caveats were included – all Russian athletes returning to international competition must meet relevant anti-doping requirements, while the IOC will not organise events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events.
The Olympic body will also decide on the display of the Russian flag, anthem, colours, or any identifications for the Olympic Games “at the appropriate time.”
Crucially, the IOC has also made it clear that individual sports and competitions have discretion to make their own decisions regarding Russia.
Last year, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) lifted the partial suspension of Russia and Belarus, allowing their athletes to utilize their own countries’ names and flags at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
