IOC: Russian athletes will not compete under their flag at the 2026 Olympics even in case of peace with Ukraine

Russian athletes will not be able to compete under the national flag at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina dʼAmpezzo even if a peace agreement is concluded between Ukraine and Russia.

This was stated by the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry in an interview with Corriere della Sera.

According to her, the decision of the International Olympic Committee remains in effect — Russian athletes will only be able to participate in the competitions in a neutral status and individually.

"At this stage, nothing will change regarding the decision already made: only neutral athletes and only in an individual capacity," Coventry said.

She also noted that IOC is in contact not with governments, but with the Olympic committees of Russia and Israel. Commenting on the UN resolution on an Olympic truce for the 2026 Games, Coventry expressed hope that it would be respected, but stressed that the IOCʼs sporting decisions do not depend on political agreements.

The Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina dʼAmpezzo will start on February 6, 2026.

• Russian athletes began competing under a neutral flag after Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At that time, IOC recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from international competitions, and later the committee allowed limited participation of individual athletes in neutral status: without a flag, anthem, or national symbols, provided that they did not support the war and were not associated with Russian security forces.
• This decision has repeatedly sparked heated debate within IOC and sharp criticism from Ukraine and a number of other countries, especially after incidents where individual Russian athletes publicly supported aggression or were associated with the Russian army and special services.

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