IOC suspends Russian Olympic Committee 'with immediate effect'

The IOC added that the ROC would not be eligible for any funding after it recognised Olympic Councils from the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

"The unilateral decision taken by the Russian Olympic Committee on 5 October 2023 to include, as its members, the regional sports organisations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia) constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter," the IOC said in a statement.

"... it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter."

The IOC executive board is meeting in Mumbai ahead of the IOC session on October 15th-17th.

Thursday's ruling does not affect any decision on Russian and Belarusian athletes' participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics which the IOC will take at a later date.

"The suspension of the ROC does not affect the participation of independent athletes," IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference.

The Russian Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The IOC had not sanctioned the Russian or Belarusian Olympic Committee or Russian members of the IOC but did ban athletes following Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls a 'special military operation'.

In March, however, it issued a first set of recommendations for international sports federations to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to return.

The IOC has said athletes should not be punished for actions of governments.