Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has taken a significant step by launching an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recent decision to provisionally reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). The appeal was confirmed on Wednesday, with the NOC deeming the IOC's move as both premature and dangerous.

On July 7, the IOC lifted the ROC’s suspension, a pivotal action that seemed to pave the way for Russia’s reintegration into the Olympic movement as the Los Angeles 2028 Games approach. The ROC had faced suspension since October 2023 due to its recognition of regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied territories of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This reinstatement is part of a broader trend by the IOC to gradually ease restrictions on Russia, which has included recommendations for federations to readmit Russian and Belarusian Under-23 athletes since December.

The NOC of Ukraine emphasized that the IOC's decision lacked proper verification of whether the violations leading to the ROC's suspension had been resolved. They stated:

The position of the NOC of Ukraine is based on the fact that the IOC’s decision was made prematurely... As early as 2024, the CAS confirmed the legality of the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee...

The NOC warned that reinstating the ROC's rights without addressing these violations undermines international sports law principles and sets a dangerous precedent for the Olympic Movement.

In response, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev remarked that the IOC’s decision should enable a complete return for Russian athletes to the international sports arena, despite Russian athletes competing as neutrals at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.