IIHF suspends Russian and Belarusian teams after invasion of Ukraine

On 28 February 2022, four days after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the sport's world governing body, suspended Russia and Belarus. The decision covered national teams and clubs at every level and took effect immediately.

The move followed pressure from several national federations and from the wider sports world, where bodies such as the International Olympic Committee had urged that Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials be excluded. Belarus was included because its territory was used to stage the attack. The IIHF had earlier removed the 2022 men's under-18 and women's events it had planned to hold in Russia, and it also stripped Russia of hosting the 2023 men's World Championship, which it later reassigned.

The suspension kept Russia out of IIHF World Championships and junior tournaments, and Russian players were absent from international ice hockey for several seasons. It also became the starting point of a long dispute over whether and when Russian teams could return, which later reached the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sport's top arbitration body, and which continues to divide national federations.