Only vetted individual Russian and Belarusian athletes under a neutral flag will be allowed to participate, the committee has said Russian and Belarusian teams will remain barred from the 2026 Winter Games in Italy, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has declared. The ruling extends existing sanctions, with only vetted athletes allowed to compete individually under a neutral flag.Both Russia and Belarus were barred from the Olympics after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, which also led to their exclusion from other major sporting events. The IOC later made exceptions, allowing some athletes to participate in the Games as individuals under neutral flags, including at the Paris Olympics in 2024, while national teams have been banned.”Teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered,” the IOC said on Friday.Instead, only vetted competitors from the two countries may take part as individuals under a neutral flag. As in Paris, a commission will assess each case, barring those who “actively support” the conflict or serve under contract with the Russian or Belarusian military or security services. IOC President Kirsty Coventry told reporters: “The Executive Board will take the exact same approach that was done in Paris [2024 Olympics]. Nothing has changed.”Coventry, who was elected earlier this year, has said she opposes banning nations from the Olympics due to armed conflicts.Russian officials have repeatedly accused Western nations of politicizing sport and exerting pressure on sports federations to exclude Russian athletes for political reasons.Despite restrictions, Russian athletes have continued winning in events. Last month, Russian swimmers took home 18 medals, including six golds, from the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, their first chance to compete since 2016 under IOC rules. The team, competing as neutrals, finished fourth overall.Moscow has branded the IOC sanctions a perversion of the Olympic Charter, under which the Games are supposed to remain free of politics.The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in February in the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.