Russia barred from all international ice skating events following invasion of Ukraine

Russian athletes have not been allowed to participate in another sport that is popular at home because of the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia was banned from competing in international ice skating events on Tuesday, a day after being kicked out of soccer and hockey. The International Olympic Committee wants to keep Russian athletes out of sporting events around the world.

The International Skating Union, the body that runs the sport around the world, said no athletes from Russia or Belarus will be invited or allowed to participate in events until further notice.

The ISU Council reiterates its solidarity with all those affected by the conflict in Ukraine and our thoughts are with the entire Ukrainian people and country.

Russia and Belarus have been allies in the attack on Ukraine.

The world figure skating championship will be held in Montpellier, France, later this month. The decision by the ISU means that Anna Shcherbakova and Kamila Valieva will not compete in the Olympics.

Russia was stripped of hosting the men's world championships in August and September by the International Volleyball Federation.

The World Championships in Russia would not be possible due to the war in Ukraine, the board said.

The sport of swimming has chosen to ignore the recommendation from the IOC to ban Russians. The governing body of the sport, known as FINA, said Tuesday it would allow Russian and Belarusian swimmers to compete as neutrals.

Russia is still listed as the host of the world short-course championships in December.

The swimming body said it had withdrawn an honor it had given to Putin.

The Norwegian Ski Federation said Tuesday it would block Russians from competing in upcoming World Cup events, despite the International Ski Federation's decision to allow Russians to continue to compete.

The Norwegian Ski Federation had hoped that the same conclusion would be reached on behalf of all ski nations. The Norwegian Ski Federation president said that the executive board decided that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be allowed to participate in the upcoming events in Norway.

Russian track athletes may not be allowed to compete at the world indoor championships in Serbia. Many Russians compete as neutral athletes without a flag or national emblems despite being suspended from the sport for DOPING.