Russia moved a step closer on Tuesday to having a full team compete under its national flag and anthem at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies to end a three-year programme under which Russian athletes had to be vetted before being allowed to compete as neutrals.
The IOC said the timing reflected the start of qualifying events for the Los Angeles Games and "the need to offer equal access to these competitions to all athletes."
The move, which also signals a return for Russia in team sports, had been expected since the IOC advised two months ago that athletes from Belarus, which was Russia's ally when its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, should again be allowed to compete under their full national identity.
"We don't want to hold athletes accountable for the actions of their governments," IOC president Kirsty Coventry said during an online news conference after chairing an executive board meeting.
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A two-time Olympic swimming gold medallist for Zimbabwe, Coventry said it was a fair decision and added: "I wouldn't be sitting here if I had to pay the price when my country was going through things and being sanctioned."
Ukraine's sports minister, Matvii Bidnyi, questioned why the IOC had changed its rules when, in the war, "nothing changed. The situation became even worse."
Russia launched waves of missiles and drones at Ukraine early on Monday, killing at least 22 people.
"So we don't understand it," Bidnyi told The Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday. "On this day, when all of Ukraine is in a day of mourning, when our flags were a little bit lower because so many of our peaceful citizens were killed yesterday night."
The IOC also reiterated its "solidarity with the Olympic community of Ukraine" and its continuing financial support.
The IOC's guidance to reintegrate Russian athletes into international events is not binding on the governing bodies of individual sports.
"Our country's return to the Olympic family is a green light for international federations to restore the rights of our athletes," Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said on Tuesday.
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Track and field is not following suit.
Asked about the IOC's decision, World Athletics referred the AP to its decision last week maintaining a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in its international competitions.
In football, FIFA and UEFA have continued to exclude Russia from competitions such as the World Cup and Champions League, avoiding likely disruption because teams from other countries would refuse to play those matches.
Russian athletes and teams are also likely to face difficulties obtaining entry visas from some countries hosting sporting events.
Among leading Olympic sports, swimming's governing body, World Aquatics, lifted its restrictions on Russian athletes in April.
The Russian Olympic Committee was suspended in 2023 after it incorporated regional sports councils from occupied areas of eastern Ukraine. However, the IOC said the ROC had confirmed that it "does not, and will not, conduct any activities in these territories".
Bidnyi dismissed the pledge as "just fake and empty words".
Just 32 athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics as approved neutrals, winning a combined five medals, including one gold.
Russia's team in Los Angeles could now be much closer in size to the more than 300 athletes it sent to the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, where it won 71 medals, including 20 golds.
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To be approved for neutral status, Russian athletes had to demonstrate they had no links to state military or security agencies. They also could not have publicly supported the war in Ukraine.
Coventry confirmed the IOC will continue to monitor Russian athletes' social media posts, citing the "role models" requirement in the Olympic Charter.
"That is strong enough leverage that we would need at any time in order to decide who would be willing and deserving to come to any Olympic Games," she said.
IOC official James Macleod said the Olympic body receives referrals from Ukraine about problematic social media posts by Russian athletes.
"Those are always taken into consideration," he said.
The IOC has not yet approved allowing Russian athletes and teams to compete under their national flag and anthem. It said that decision would be taken "at an appropriate time".
The next Olympic competition is the 2026 Youth Summer Games in Dakar, Senegal, which open on October 31.
The IOC said that, to "address the lack of confidence in the global sporting community relating to the return of Russian athletes to international competition", those athletes must undergo multiple doping controls and be part of a recognised testing programme.
The IOC also said it would continue to "not organise IOC events in Russia or invite Russian government or state officials to its events".
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
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