Russian athletes at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan will be barred from competing for the Kremlin — no matter what.  Even if a peace deal is reached with invaded neighbor Ukraine, Russian competitors at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will not be able to compete under their national flag, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry told Italian newspaper .  Time will tell.

     “At this stage, nothing would change the Committee’s decision,” Coventry told the outlet ahead of the games, which run from Feb. 6-22.  The IOC will be upholding the sanctions introduced nearly four years ago due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  “The channel is open with the Olympic Committees of Russia … ,” Coventry replied when asked if the IOC has been speaking with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

     AINs even have their own team flag and anthem, which has no lyrics.  “During the victory ceremonies, the AIN flag will be flown and the AIN anthem will be played,” the website continued.  During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, 32 athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport from 10 different sports participated, “without any incident on or off the field of play,” according to the website.

     But the website also made it clear that “athletes who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or compete,” and “athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies” will also be banned from competition.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that a US-ckebad peace deal is “90% ready,” with Russia’s hard demands and refusal to make any real concessions remaining the key issue.