It was decided at today's Executive Board meeting to suspend "start procedures for the suspension" of both National Federations with immediate effect, having deemed that they "as representatives of their nations failed to uphold their humanitarian obligations in the spirit of the IBU Constitution".

This follows the widely condemned invasion of Ukraine which has led to Russia and Belarus largely being frozen out of international sport.

Under the next steps, the suspensions of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) and Biathlon Federation of Belarus (BiFB) would run until the Ordinary Congress in September, although they would be regularly reviewed by the IBU Executive Board.

Reinstatement will "depend on the future development of the situation and behaviour of the suspended associations".

The RBU and BiFB have both been granted seven days to respond, after which the Executive Board will make a final decision on suspension.

The decision has been criticised in Russia, with state news agency TASS reporting that the RBU considered the decision to be unlawful.

Former Russian head coach Valery Polkhovsky accused the IBU of "jumping to conclusions" and making the decision "under pressure", as reported by TASS.

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Dmitry Vasiliev told TASS that the move towards suspending the IBU was unsurprising, and accused the IBU of punishing athletes and coaches.

"No one had any illusions about this, everything was predetermined, so there is no need for hysteria, [or] panic," Vasiliev said.

"We just clearly understand that the world has changed dramatically and we need to act within the existing paradigm.

"There is no need to count on common sense in the coming years.

"International Federations allow themselves to violate their own charters, where not a word is written that athletes and coaches are responsible for the activities of their states."

The RBU has been relegated to provisional membership since 2017, while Belarus has previously been stripped of hosting an IBU World Cup following a series of protests triggered by the disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko in August 2020.

Russia's military offensive on Ukraine, assisted by Belarus, has sparked a backlash.

Athletes and officials from both countries had already been banned from all IBU events due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Numerous International Federations have taken a similar step, following recommendations from the International Olympic Committee.

The IBU has vowed to work with National Federations from Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland to support the Ukrainian biathlon community, including hosting training camps.

The International Federation has vowed to back the project with up to €250,000 (£210,000/$280,000) in funding.

Olle Dahlin, President of the IBU, commented: "The IBU thanks the eight National Federations for their generosity and willingness to assist us with this programme for the Ukrainian biathlon community.

"While it is these National Federations that can support this project, we know that the whole biathlon family is united behind it and standing in solidarity with Ukraine."