President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Luke Tardif announced that the decision on possible participation Russian national team in the 2026 Olympic Games will be accepted in February-March 2025.

He noted that the decision is made annually, regardless of the team’s rating, unlike the Belarusian national team.

“As usual, we make a decision year after year. The Russian team does not depend on the rating as much as the Belarusian team. The question of the participation of the Russian team in the Olympic Games will be decided in February-March 2025,” Tardif said, as quoted by TASS.

Previously, the IIHF banned the Russian and Belarusian national teams from participating in international competitions in the 2024/2025 season. Because of this, the Russian team will miss the 2025 World Cup. The ban was imposed after the start of a special military operation on Ukrainian territory in February 2022.