As Russia continues bombing Ukraine, international sports organizations embrace Moscow

As Russia continues its war of conquest against Ukraine, causing thousands of deaths, international sports organizations are eyeing to welcome Russian athletes and teams back into international competition.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to lift its suspension on Russian participation on July 7, provoking angry reactions from Ukraine and across Europe.

Russia had been banned from participating in Olympic sports since 2022, following the start of its all-out war, and was further barred from returning in 2023 when it claimed members from Ukrainian regions under illegal Russian occupation. Those regions are still occupied, but the Olympic committee claims that there are no problems as long as athletes from occupied parts of Ukraine don't participate under the Russian flag.

Ukraine's sanctions chief, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, called the move "worrying" in comments given to the Kyiv Independent, and said that "any steps to restore the full participation of Russian sports structures in the international sports movement contradict the logic of sanctions pressure."

"As long as sports in Russia remain an instrument of state propaganda and support for the war, international sports organizations should not weaken, but maintain the policy of isolating those who promote aggression," Vlasiuk said.

Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostiuk on July 8 was more explicit, calling the move "terrible."

"I think it's very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I 100% don't agree with this decision. ... I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics."

When asked to comment on the IOC's decision, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said that EU leaders agreed at a June 18 summit that "as long as there is no just and lasting peace in Ukraine, there should not be a normalization of Russia's participation in international sports and cultural events."

"The Commission fully supports this position," Itkonen said.

Separately, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have drafted an open letter to the IOC, which calls on them to reverse their decision.

The letter, a draft of which was seen by the Kyiv Independent, criticizes the IOC for giving "the Kremlin a significant propaganda victory, while Russia continues its bombing of Ukraine night after night."

Meanwhile, Russian officials are celebrating.

Mikhail Degtyarev, Russia's sports minister, said: "The return of our country to the Olympic family signals a green light for the International Federations to reinstate all our athletes' rights."

IOC's decision is the latest in a series of pro-Russian moves made by a flurry of international sports organizations.

Sky News reported that the world football association FIFA is considering lifting its own ban on Russian teams as a result of the IOC's decision.

On July 1, FIFA had already allowed Russian athletes under 15 to participate in this year's U-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

A group of 44 European parliament members wrote to FIFA Head Gianni Infantino on July 1, calling for a reversal of that decision.

"While around 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly kidnapped and separated from their families by Putin's regime, we do not consider it appropriate to allow Russian teams to participate," the MEPs wrote.

FIFA had not replied to the MEPs by the time of publication.

The Russian state has long been crawling back into international sports with the help of sports officials.

Speaking to the Kyiv Independent back in February, Jens Sejer Andersen, founder of the Play the Game initiative, said that, unlike athletes, Russian and Belarusian sports officials were never fully suspended, allowing them to quietly influence international sports organizations.

For example, Shamil Tarpishchev, president of the Russian Tennis Federation and a supporter of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, remains a member of the IOC. Meanwhile, oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was re-elected president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE) in 2024 despite international sanctions, though he later resigned.

The move to welcome Russia back despite the country’s ongoing war laid bare late last year when the International Paralympic Committee reinstated the national Paralympic committees of Russia and Belarus after a vote at its General Assembly on Sept. 27. Despite missing qualifying competitions, Russian and Belarusian athletes received individual slots — six for Russia and four for Belarus — and took part in the 2026 Paralympic Games.

Speaking about the reinstatement of the Russian Paralympic Committee, its President Pavel Rozhkov singled Putin for praise.

"This victory was made possible thanks to the tremendous political and diplomatic work carried out by Russian President Vladimir Putin with countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa," Rozhkov told Russia's Match TV channel back in September.

Vlasiuk told the Kyiv Independent that several leading figures in Russian sports are being considered for sanctions, including sports minister Degtyarev, president of Russia's wrestling federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, the former President of Moscow's Olympic committee, Stanislav Pozdnyakov, and the President of the International Chess Federation, Arkady Dvorkovich.

None of these names could be confirmed by EU officials, as it is a longstanding policy not to disclose names of those to be sanctioned ahead of their listing, so that they are unable to take preventive measures.

However, EU and national diplomats told the Kyiv Independent they don't recall a specific focus on people with sporting connections in the forthcoming sanctions package.

They expect, however, a larger focus on that topic in future listings.