How Russia Broke the Olympic TruceThe start of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics saw one very prominent contender missing from it all. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine occurred just four days after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics ended and therefore directly violated the truce. This was not Russia’s first time ignoring the Truce agreement—in fact, the last time Russia was in Beijing, on the opening day of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Russia also invaded its neighbor, Georgia. Russia also violated the Olympic Charter, in 2023, when it attempted to include parts of occupied Ukraine under the Russian Olympic Committee. Due to a state-sponsored doping scandal, the 2018, 2020, and 2022 Olympics all allowed Russian athletes to compete under the “Russia Olympic Committee,” and the “Olympic Athletes from Russia,” category.

Source: The Guardian February 23, 2026 10:38 UTC