Russians will compete as neutral independent athletes without a national flag or anthem at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee has said, maintaining the same sanctions as the Paris Summer Games last year.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying the move had violated the Olympic Charter.

“We also spoke about the Independent Neutral Athletes (AINs). This will be nothing new,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry told a news conference. “The executive board will take the exact same approach that was done in Paris (2024 Olympics). Nothing has changed.”

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