Russia's men's and women's ice hockey teams can return to the world championships next year after a five-year hiatus following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday.
Russia has been banned from International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) competitions since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
CAS said it had received three separate appeals from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) this year "concerning the participation of Russian teams in IIHF competitions and participation of the RIHF in an IIHF Congress" and upheld one.
The consequences of the decision opens the way for Russia to compete in five world championship tournaments including the senior events next year – the men's takes place in Germany in May and Canada hosts the women's in November.
The first one the Russians are eligible for is the junior world championships in Canada that run from December 26 this year to January 5, 2027.
"The CAS Panel... found that the IIHF arguments citing safety, security and other concerns were not supported by sufficient evidence," read the CAS judgement by the three-person panel.
"They noted that the IIHF Disciplinary Board already found that the evidence was insufficient to establish the legal requirements for non-participation.
"The Panel unanimously concluded that... only substantiated security concerns could outweigh athletes of a particular nationality to participate in competitions."
The IIHF expressed its disappointment at the decision.
"The IIHF disagrees with this aspect of the ruling and maintains that its decisions were necessary to protect the safety and security of all participants and safeguard the integrity of its competitions," read their statement.
The federation said it would comply with the ruling but added that "the outcome does not remove the concerns that informed its assessments."
They added there were "significant practical implications", including schedules and safety and security measures regarding the tournaments to be addressed following the ruling.
One such conundrum they face is the men's world championships because there is already a published fixture list for the 16 finalists.
"These decisions made by CAS do not consider the practical elements which cannot be implemented immediately," said the IIHF.
The IIHF's stance over Russia was not as hardline as that taken by World Athletics, whose blanket ban on Russian involvement has also sparked an appeal from Moscow to CAS.
Luc Tardif, the then-IIHF president had said at this year's Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina that he wanted Russia back as soon as possible, but not for the 2026-27 season as it "would not be good for our competitions".
His wish received a considerable boost in July when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) eased the restrictions on Russian individual athletes as well as teams.
It opens the way for Russian competitors to qualify for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, although the ultimate decision as to whether the Russians are allowed to compete lies with the federation of each sports.