The decision was taken by the IBSF Executive Committee, who opted to implement International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendations.

The IOC recommended on Monday (February 28) that athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus should be banned from all international sporting events.

The IOC said that normally it would not punish athletes for the decisions of a Government if they are not actively participating in them.

The war in Ukraine was considered an exceptional circumstance by the IOC, who said it made the recommendation to "protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all participants."

The IBSF confirmed its support of the recommendations and said it had suspended the Bobsleigh Federation of Russia until the organisation’s next Congress in July 2022.

Belarus is not an IBSF member federation.

"It is equally important that IBSF stands together with all its athletes in all its member federations, and the decision is not aimed against athletes," the IBSF said.

"We are here to protect our values, and we accentuate our values of integrity and solidarity with this decision."

Athletes are unlikely to be impacted significantly by their suspension from IBSF competitions at this stage, with both the bobsleigh and skeleton World Cup seasons having concluded.

An IBSF sanctioned event in Pyeongchang on March 10 is the sole competition remaining on the calendar this season.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus are now banned from participating in winter sports governed by Winter Olympic International Federations.