Matvei Michkov’s senior debut for Russia in an officially sanctioned tournament will have to wait. The International Ice Hockey Federation ruled Tuesday that Russia and Belarus will remain ineligible for tournaments for the 2025-26 season as it “believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate” the two countries into tournaments.

The International Ice Hockey Federation says it is not ready to allow the national teams of Russia and Belarus to participate in its competitions through the 2025/26 season.

The IIHF announced Tuesday that the Russian and Belarusian national teams will remain barred from competition for at least another year.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned the Russian national team from participating in the 2026 World Championship, which will be held in Switzerland. Source: Champion, a sports news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company,

Russia and Belarus are to remain frozen out of International Ice Hockey Federation competitions through the 2025-26 season.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off coming up next week, marking the return of “best-on-best” International Hockey, the IIHF Council ruled on whether or not to bring Russia and Belarus back into their international hockey tournaments.