The IOC just recommended bringing Russian athletes back to the Olympics. Here’s how Russia, Ukraine, and the West are reacting.

The International Olympic Committee is moving to end Russia's exile from global sport. According to Meduza, the IOC has recommended lifting all restrictions on Russian athletes barred since the twenty twenty-two full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and has provisionally reinstated the Russian Olympic Committee. Under the current rules, Russians could only compete as individuals in neutral status, if at all. The recommendation stops short of an automatic return — each sport's international federation will still decide who competes — but it markedly weakens Russian sport's isolation. Meduza reports that reactions are splitting predictably across Russia, Ukraine, and the West.

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