ISU grants neutral status to four more Russian skaters, list grows to 75 athletes
The International Skating Union (ISU) has expanded the list of Russian figure skaters approved to compete with individual neutral athlete status in the 2026/27 season. According to the latest update to the list, Kira Domozhirova, Viktor Potapov, Milana Kuzmina and Dmitrij Studenikin have been granted neutral status, bringing the updated list of AIN athletes to 75 names. The decision is part of the broader return of athletes associated with Russian and Belarusian ISU members to international competitions after a multi-year exclusion introduced following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The return, however, does not mean a restoration of participation under national symbols: approved athletes compete as neutral individuals, without the Russian or Belarusian flag, anthem or national-team equipment. At the same time, the ISU stressed that the permission is not unconditional and that the status may be reviewed if new information emerges concerning violations of neutrality criteria, security problems or issues that could affect the integrity of competitions.
The latest expansion of the list is particularly important for figure skating because the approved athletes include competitors from several disciplines and generations. Domozhirova competes in pair skating, while Studenikin has appeared in Russian competitions in recent seasons in ice dance with Milana Kuzmina. Potapov is also active in pair skating. Their inclusion in the AIN system does not mean automatic entry into every international competition, because actual participation is still affected by entries submitted by national ISU members, quotas, technical minimums, the rules of individual competitions and the status of partners in pair skating and ice dance. Nevertheless, obtaining neutral status removes one of the key administrative obstacles to returning to the international stage.
Gumennik, Ignatova and Valieva also on the list
The updated list already includes some of the best-known names in Russian figure skating. Among them are Petr Gumennik, an Olympian from Milano Cortina 2026, Aleksandra Ignatova, known to the wider sporting public for years under the surname Trusova, and Kamila Valieva. Gumennik had already passed the earlier neutrality screening system and competed as an AIN in the 2025/26 season, including at the qualifying competition in Beijing and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. His example shows how neutral status works in practice: in official results, the athlete is listed under the AIN designation rather than under the Russian national flag.
Valieva's return to the list attracts attention because of the doping case that marked the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. In November 2025, the ISU confirmed that the Swiss Federal Supreme Court had rejected her request for a review of the decision connected with her four-year suspension. After the sanction expired, she was once again able to compete for competitive status, while approval to participate as a neutral athlete is a separate matter and requires compliance with the AIN criteria.
What AIN status actually allows
On 30 June 2026, the ISU announced a change in policy toward athletes associated with members in Russia and Belarus and announced their reintegration into ISU competitions and other international competitions during the 2026/27 season under neutral status. In its official announcement, the organization stated that athletes may not compete with elements of state representation, which includes national flags, national-team uniforms and anthems. Their participation is therefore formally separated from representation of the state, although entries for ISU events continue to be submitted by the corresponding members of the international federation in accordance with the rules.
The return is further restricted by quotas. The ISU explained that Russian and Belarusian members would be treated, in terms of the number of available places, under the conditions applying to members in their first season of competition, because they had been absent from ISU events for more than three years and were unable to collect ranking points during that period. This means that a large number of athletes with approved AIN status cannot by itself result in an equal number of international appearances. In figure skating, additional complexity is created by pair skating and ice dance, where the entire competitive team must be eligible under the rules and must meet the other entry criteria for a specific competition.
The ISU has also retained the right to reintroduce or tighten restrictions. Its decision concerning the 2026/27 season states that conditions at competitions will be continuously monitored and that further relaxation of measures may be considered only if there are no issues related to security and integrity. The organization also stressed that the current reopening primarily concerns athletes. Restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials remain in force, although the ISU announced that it would develop a possible pathway for their return to official roles.
Neutrality criteria remain the central issue
The AIN status model was not introduced merely as a change in the way flags and names are displayed in results. During the process for the 2025/26 Olympic season, the ISU had already established a special screening system for candidates, with a neutral athlete review panel and support from an independent external service provider. According to an official ISU announcement from May 2025, candidates' public statements and public appearances from February 2022 onward were examined in order to determine whether there was active support for the invasion of Ukraine or a contractual connection with Russian or Belarusian military and security structures. Not all athletes nominated at the time passed the procedure.
Under the current neutrality regime, the basic logic remains the same: the right to compete is tied to compliance with the conditions of neutral status, and the ISU can react to new information. This is important because approval is not intended as a permanent confirmation independent of an athlete's future conduct. If credible information indicating a violation of the criteria emerges after status has been granted, the federation retains the possibility of changing its decision. Such an approach gives the ISU a considerably broader supervisory role than the usual verification of sporting results, age or technical requirements.
During the Olympic qualification cycle, alongside neutrality screening, the ISU also implemented a special anti-doping program in cooperation with the International Testing Agency. It included targeted testing, monitoring of biological passports and control of athletes' whereabouts information. The program was linked to the pathway to the Milano Cortina 2026 Games and demonstrates how multi-layered the return process was.
From the complete 2022 ban to a gradual return
On 1 March 2022, several days after the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the ISU Council decided that skaters and officials associated with federation members in Russia and Belarus could not participate in international competitions, including championships and other ISU events, until further notice. The decision followed a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee and was justified by the need to protect the integrity of competitions and the safety of participants. As a result, Russian athletes, who had previously been among the leaders in several skating disciplines, effectively disappeared from the regular international calendar under the ISU's authority.
The first major shift followed at the end of 2024, when the ISU opened a limited pathway for individual neutral athletes toward qualification for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. At that time, this was not a complete return to all international tournaments, but a controlled system for specific Olympic qualifying events. In May 2025, the first list of those who had passed the special screening was published, and during the 2025/26 season neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus competed at certain qualifying events and at the Games themselves. In its June 2026 decision, the ISU stated that, when deciding on further reopening, it had also taken into account the fact that the participation of neutral athletes in those skating qualifiers and at the Winter Olympic Games had not resulted in related incidents.
The 2026/27 season therefore represents a new phase. Instead of a narrow Olympic exemption, the ISU has opened a broader framework for the return of approved athletes to its competitions and other international competitions. This is still not a complete normalization of relations with Russian and Belarusian sporting structures, because the neutral designation, limited quotas, monitoring of criteria and separate restrictions on officials remain in place. Nevertheless, in practical terms, this is the largest opening of the international skating system to these athletes since the 2022 ban.
Four newly approved athletes come from pairs and ice dance
In recent seasons, Kira Domozhirova has competed in Russian events in pair skating with Ilya Vegera. According to data from the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Domozhirova and Vegera won the Russian championship for the older age group in Kazan in April 2025 with a total of 191.72 points, and in the 2025/26 season they continued competing in the Russian junior series. In November 2025, they won the Russian Junior Grand Prix "Idel" in Kazan. Those results explain why Domozhirova is among the athletes who, provided they meet all other requirements, could be relevant for international entries in younger categories and for a future transition toward senior competition.
Viktor Potapov also comes from pair skating. The Russian federation lists him in a pair with Viktoria Dvinina, with whom he finished second at the same older-age-group championship in Kazan in April 2025. Their pair continued competing in the 2025/26 season. The granting of AIN status to Potapov therefore increases the number of Russian pair skaters who are administratively eligible to compete for international appearances, but the final possibility of participation also depends on the status of his partner, the quota and the rules of the specific competition.
Milana Kuzmina and Dmitrij Studenikin form an ice dance pair. The Russian federation recorded their appearances at domestic competitions and test skates, and the pair also competed at the 2026 Russian Championship. Studenikin also has previous international experience: before the ban on Russian skaters, he competed at junior level, including at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Košice in 2021 with his then-partner Margarita Svistunova. His return to the list of athletes eligible for international competitions therefore links the period before the ban with the new neutral regime applied from the 2026/27 season.
A large list does not mean an automatic return of the Russian national team
The figure of 75 approved athletes may create the impression of a broad return, but legally and in sporting terms the situation is more complex. AIN status is individual, not representative of a national team. Athletes are not returning as the Russian national team, their results and appearances are shown under a neutral designation, and state symbols remain excluded. In addition, the ISU's quota rules limit the number of available places, especially because Russian and Belarusian members, after a long absence, do not have the rankings and quotas they possessed before 2022.
For athletes in individual disciplines, neutral status can relatively directly open the path toward entry if they meet the sporting criteria. In pair skating and ice dance, the situation is more sensitive because the competitive unit depends on two athletes. For that reason, approval of one member of a pair alone is not sufficient for the entire pair to compete internationally. This is particularly important when interpreting the latest expansion of the list: the four new names represent four individual eligibility decisions, not four guaranteed places at international competitions.
On the other hand, the increasing number of approved athletes shows that the ISU's June 2026 decision is being implemented on a considerably broader scale than the Olympic model from the previous season. At that time, access was focused on a limited number of nominated athletes and specific qualifying events. Now a larger pool of skaters is being created who may be entered throughout the entire season, subject to neutral rules and limited quotas. For international competition, this could mean the gradual reappearance of Russian athletes at junior and senior tournaments in several disciplines, but the pace and scale of that return will depend on the calendar, entries and sporting conditions.
ISU retains the possibility of changing direction
In its readmission decision, the ISU did not present the 2026/27 season as the definitive end of its restrictive policy. On the contrary, the organization explicitly stated that it would monitor conditions at events and could reintroduce or increase restrictions if security or integrity problems arise. This means that the return has been structured as a process that can be adapted to circumstances, rather than as a one-time decision after which all previous restrictions have been irreversibly abolished. Such wording leaves room both for individual interventions concerning athletes and for broader measures if the ISU considers them necessary.
At the same time, the federation continues to emphasize its support for Ukrainian skaters. In its announcement of 30 June, the ISU stated that it had provided financial assistance through its development program, contributions to the Ukrainian Skating Federation and a support program for displaced athletes, and that it was considering the next phase of assistance. This is an important part of the context because the decision to return Russian and Belarusian neutral athletes is being implemented while the war in Ukraine continues, and international sports federations are applying different models toward athletes from those two countries.
The latest approval for Domozhirova, Potapov, Kuzmina and Studenikin is therefore more than an administrative addition to the list. It confirms that the ISU continues to expand the circle of athletes whom it allows to return under a neutral designation, while at the same time retaining the political and regulatory boundaries introduced after 2022. For the skaters themselves, AIN status opens the door to international entries; for the ISU, the challenge remains how to implement that return while consistently applying the criteria, ensuring equal sporting conditions and controlling the risks that the federation itself has cited as a reason for caution.
Sources:
- International Skating Union - decision of 30 June 2026 on the readmission of neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus in the 2026/27 season (link)
- International Skating Union - description of the special screening procedure for AIN candidates for the 2025/26 Olympic qualification events and the neutrality criteria (link)
- International Skating Union - March 2022 decision excluding Russian and Belarusian skaters and officials from international competitions (link)
- International Skating Union - official announcement on the Swiss Federal Supreme Court's November 2025 decision in the Kamila Valieva case (link)
- Inside the Games - report of 22 August 2026 on the addition of Kira Domozhirova, Viktor Potapov, Milana Kuzmina and Dmitrij Studenikin to the AIN list and the increase of the AIN list to 75 athletes (link)
- Russian Figure Skating Federation - data on domestic results and partnerships of Kira Domozhirova and Viktor Potapov (link)
- Russian Figure Skating Federation - confirmation of appearances by ice dance pair Milana Kuzmina and Dmitrij Studenikin at domestic events in the 2025/26 season (link)