International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach speaks during an Executive Board Meeting, ahead of the 141st IOC Session, in Mumbai, India, October 12, 2023.
REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The Russian Olympic Committee was banned with immediate effect on Thursday for recognising regional organisations from four territories annexed from Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee said.
"... it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter."
While Ukraine welcomed the move, the Russian Olympic Committee called it counter-productive.
The IOC had not sanctioned the Russian or Belarusian Olympic Committee or Russian IOC members since Moscow's 2022 invasion but did ban athletes from those countries in the first few months after what Moscow calls a 'special military operation'.
Persons:
Thomas Bach, Niharika Kulkarni, Thursday's, Mark Adams, Andriy Yermak, Sudipto Ganguly, Karolos, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Yuliia, Karolos Grohmann, Ken Ferris
Organizations:
Olympic, 141st IOC, REUTERS, Rights, Russian Olympic, International Olympic Committee, IOC, Russian Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committee, Presidential, Belarusian Olympic Committee, Moscow, Thomson
Locations:
Mumbai, India, Rights MUMBAI, Ukraine, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, ROC, Gdansk