The International Olympic Committee has lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, clearing the way for Russian athletes to compete in team events and qualifying competitions for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The decision, announced from Lausanne on Tuesday, removes the last blanket restrictions on Russian participation imposed after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though the ban on the Russian flag, anthem and national colours at the Games themselves remains in place for now.

The reversal was triggered by a legal technicality. The IOC had sanctioned the ROC in October 2023 for incorporating sports organisations from four annexed Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia — a move the committee deemed a violation of the Olympic Charter. The ROC has since confirmed it will not conduct any activities in those territories, eliminating what the IOC described as the juridical basis for the suspension. The committee stressed it would “closely monitor the situation” and reserved the right to reimpose measures if the commitment is broken.

Reactions split along familiar geopolitical lines. In Stockholm, Sweden’s sports minister Jakob Forssmed called the decision “deplorable” and said it “normalises Russia’s war of aggression”, while EU minister Jessica Rosencrantz described it as “utterly shameful”. The Swedish Olympic Committee said its position was unchanged and that nothing in the Ukraine conflict had altered to justify the move, though it ruled out a boycott. Moscow welcomed the news: sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev said the IOC was sending “a clear signal — the Olympic movement must remain free from politics”.

The IOC’s ruling is a recommendation, not a mandate. Individual international federations retain the authority to bar Russian athletes from their events, and several have done so. World Athletics and the International Biathlon Union maintain total bans, meaning Russian track and field athletes and biathletes cannot currently qualify for Los Angeles. The IOC also stipulated that returning athletes must pass multiple doping tests before being allowed to compete, a condition it said was necessary to address “the lack of confidence” after years of Russian doping scandals.

The next concrete step is the start of Olympic qualifying this autumn. With the IOC’s legal barrier removed, the focus shifts to each sport’s governing body. Russian athletes will be eligible to enter qualifying competitions where federations permit it, but the path to Los Angeles remains fragmented. The IOC will decide on the use of the flag and anthem “at the appropriate time”, leaving open the question of whether a full Russian delegation will march behind its own colours in 2028.