ISSF bans Russian, Belarusian shooters from ISSF Championships

The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) has banned shooters from Russia and Belarus from all shooting events. This decision has been made in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine last week.

Russia initiated a 'military operation' in Ukraine on February 24 after days of escalating tensions between the two neighboring nations. Russia launched a full-scale invasion that opened with air missile strikes before troops and tanks rolled across the borders from the north, east and south sides.

The ban was imposed while the shooting teams were competing at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Cairo, which will go on until March 8.

This ban comes amidst the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) directive to push dozens of sports governing bodies to exclude Russian athletes and officials from international events.

The ISSF said:

"Following the respective decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board and a meeting with the IOC President, the ISSF decided that athletes from the Russian Federation and Belarus will not be allowed to take part in ISSF Championships."

The ISSF further added:

"This decision entered into force at 16.00 CET (8.30pm IST) on March 1, 2022 and is valid until upon further notice."

The IOC stated that the decision was important in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants.

IOC urges international sporting federations to relocate or cancel events planned in Russia, Belarus

Earlier, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had called on the international sporting federations to reschedule, relocate or cancel their sporting events which were supposed to take place in Russia and Belarus.

The IOC's executive board on Monday recommended that international federations and organizations "not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials" in the competition.

UEFA relocated the men's Champions League final venue from Russia to France last week. Formula 1 called off the Russian Grand Prix amid the Ukraine crisis. FIFA has also barred Russia from international football until further notice.