IOC Recommends Int'l Sports Federations Ban Russian & Belarusian Athletes

The IOC also announced its decision to recall the Olympic Orders previously awarded to all people who currently hold prominent positions in the Russian government.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has called upon sports organisations to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events.

The IOC said in a statement that citizens of Russia and Belarus, be they individuals or teams, should be allowed at such events only as neutral athletes or teams.

This measure, the committee argued, was needed to "protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants."

The IOC also said that it made this move with a "heavy heart" but insisted that the potential damage done to athletes from Russia and Belarus is outweighed by the impact of the fighting in Ukraine on Ukrainian sports.

The committee also announced its decision to recall the Olympic Orders previously awarded to all people who currently hold prominent positions in the Russian government, such as Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, and Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Dmitry Kozak.

This development comes amid the ongoing military operation Moscow launched in Ukraine last week after the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics' authorities asked Russia for assistance to defend themselves from attacks by Ukrainian troops.