Is Russia in the Olympics? Explaining IOC's hockey team ban since 2022 Winter Games

The Olympics bring the world together, and this year, they’re bringing the NHL’s top talent together too.

After active NHL players were unable to compete on the Olympic stage in 2018 or 2022, the top teams in Milan are once again stacked with the world’s best players — from Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon wearing the maple leaf for Canada to Auston Matthews representing the stars and stripes for the United States.

Some of the NHL’s most potent players, however, aren’t in Milan for reasons that go far beyond hockey.

Here’s what you need to know about Russia’s status for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

MORE 2026 OLYMPICS: Live medal tracker | Viewer's guide | Day-by-day schedule

Is Russia in the Olympics?

Russia is banned from Olympic competition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ban took effect in 2022, after the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and has continued through the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and now the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

In addition to Russia, Belarus is also banned from Olympic competition.

Qualified athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete in the Olympics after undergoing a background check, but they can only compete under the designation, "AIN," an acronym for "athletes individuels neutres." In English, that translates to "individual neutral athletes."

Athletes competing under the AIN flag, which doesn't use the Olympic rings but instead is a simple teal flag that reads, "Individual Neutral Athlete," in English and French, are not introduced during the Opening Ceremony and cannot play their national anthem if they medal.

However, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) also has a ban on Russia in place, and it is the IOC's policy that individual neutral athletes, by definition, cannot form a team. That means there cannot be a Russian hockey team at the 2026 Olympics. 

MORE: Russian mock hockey roster for 2026 Olympics

Why isn't Russia at the Olympics?

Russia was banned by the IOC after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decision came shortly after the invasion, which sparked a war that continues to this day.

FIFA also banned Russia from competition as a result of the invasion, as did the IIHF. 

Russia was on unsteady ground with the IOC even before the geopolitical earthquake that was the 2022 invasion, as the country received a partial ban from the Olympics in 2016 due to a state-sponsored doping scandal. Most Russian athletes were still able to compete under the country's flag in 2016, but Russian athletes competed under a different flag as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" in 2018.

In 2020 and 2022, Russian athletes competed under a new flag as the "Russian Olympic Committee." The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing ended four days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

IIHF's Russia suspension

Russia and Belarus are currently banned from all international hockey championships because they are suspended by the IIHF. The IIHF governs all international hockey championships, including the Olympic hockey tournaments.

Reports surfaced in early 2025 claiming Russian officials had held conversations with the IIHF about a return to Olympic hockey, but both the IOC and IIHF kept their ban on Russia in place.

In a statement, the IOC confirmed it advised the IIHF not allow Russia to compete.

"It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation," the IOC said in March 2025. 

The IIHF ban includes Russian and Belarusian youth hockey teams, but the organization said in early 2026 that it will consider reinstating under-18 teams from the two countries in 2027-28.

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When will Russia return to Olympics?

The IOC hasn't provided a timeline for Russia's return to the Olympics, but one would have to imagine the situation in Ukraine has to change in some way before the ban is lifted.

In Milan, IIHF president Luc Tardif told reporters he hopes Russia and Belarus can return to international hockey competition "as soon as possible" but indicated the organization is waiting for change in the war.

"We try to see what's going on. Every day you watch the news to hope that something will come better," Tardif said.

The 2028 Summer Olympics start 29 months after the 2026 Winter Olympics end, so a change in circumstances certainly isn't off the table. Until then, however, it's unclear whether the IOC would consider reinstating Russia. 

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Russia's Olympic hockey history

Russia has nine Olympic gold medals in men's hockey, though they have competed under a handful of different flags over the years.

The Soviet Union won four consecutive gold medals from 1968-80 and three consecutive golds from 1984-92, including a win as the Unified Team in 1992 following the fall of the Soviet Union. All that prevented the Soviets from winning eight consecutive gold medals was the "Miracle on Ice," in which the United States won in a massive upset in 1980.

Russia never actually won a gold medal under the Russian flag, as the country's only men's hockey gold after 1992 came under the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" designation.