Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
The Ukrainian body confirmed its action on Wednesday, challenging a move it deems premature and dangerous.
The IOC had provisionally lifted the ROC’s suspension on 7 July, a significant step that appeared to pave the way for Russia’s reintegration into the Olympic movement ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The ROC was initially suspended in October 2023 after it recognised regional Olympic councils in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This reinstatement is part of a broader, gradual easing of restrictions by the IOC on Russia’s return to international sport, which included a December recommendation for federations to readmit Russian and Belarusian Under-23 athletes.
The NOC of Ukraine stated: “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 Ukrainian committee further highlighted a previous ruling: “The NOC of Ukraine also points out that as early as 2024, the CAS confirmed the legality of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, recognising that the inclusion of sports organizations 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.”
Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev commented on 7 July that the IOC’s decision should facilitate a full return for Russian athletes to the international sporting stage.
Russian athletes have competed as neutrals at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
