The International Olympic Council's (IOC) Executive Board has taken the decisive step of suspending the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with immediate effect, citing a "breach of charter." This suspension comes in response to the ROC's unilateral decision to include regional sports organizations under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, specifically Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, as its members. This move was deemed a violation of the Olympic Charter, compromising the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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#Russia's Olympic Committee (ROC) includes Olympic councils from so-called Donetsk and Luhansk "people's republics" as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kherson--all four of which are parts of #Ukraine.

International Olympic Committee today appropriately suspended ROC.

Good. pic.twitter.com/21tyyfdQfI
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— Steven Pifer (@steven_pifer) October 12, 2023

Consequently, the Russian Olympic Committee is no longer entitled to function as a National Olympic Committee, as per the provisions of the Olympic Charter, and will not receive any funding from the Olympic Movement. While the suspension of the ROC is in place until further notice, the IOC has yet to determine the status of athletes holding Russian passports for their participation in the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the Winter Games in Milano Cortina 2026, pledging to make such decisions at the appropriate time.

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In addition, the 141st Session of the IOC, scheduled from October 15-17, will be the forum to discuss the proposals to chart the course forward following these developments. Despite the recent diplomatic tensions between India and Canada, IOC EB director of communications Mark Adams confirmed the presence of members from the Canadian NOC at the Session. It will be interesting to see if how many Russian Athletes will participate independently in the next Olympic Games.

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