DW
October 12, 2023
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has been suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after it “unilaterally” decided to recognize regional sports organizations in four annexed Ukrainian territories as members.
The four regional organizations, namely in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, represent partially occupied and illegally annexed Ukrainian regions which, according to the IOC, fall “under the authority of the national Olympic Committee of Ukraine.”
The step, taken by the ROC on October 5, therefore “constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity” of the national Olympic Committee of Ukraine.