Far from the spirit of an Olympic truce, the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games are being depicted by Russian media as a deeply politicized event marked by exclusion and injustice. Coverage from Moscow frames the Italian Olympics not as a celebration of sport, but as another front in what is described as a broader “hybrid war” against Russia.

The dominant narrative focuses on the absence of Russian athletes, traditionally dominant in disciplines such as figure skating, ice hockey and cross-country skiing. According to state-aligned outlets, an Olympics without Russian champions is portrayed as incomplete and technically inferior, with medals described dismissively as lacking true sporting value.

Criticism is particularly harsh toward the International Olympic Committee. The decision to allow only 17 Russian competitors to participate under the neutral “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN) status is condemned as an ideological filter, while the ban on national symbols is described as a modern form of segregation.

Several Russian television channels have chosen to largely boycott the Games, instead highlighting domestic competitions presented as more ethical and competitive. At the same time, accusations of attempted cyberattacks against Olympic infrastructure are mocked by Moscow as “Russophobic hysteria,” allegedly used to distract from organizational shortcomings.

Even sporting results are downplayed. Victories by the United States or Norway are frequently accompanied by claims that outcomes would have been different with Russian participation. For the Russian audience, the medal table itself is seen as incomplete, a symbol, they argue, of an Olympics that has already lost its universal legitimacy.