The International Olympic Committee's executive board has recommended that international sports federations ban Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from competing in events, while the British Olympic Association and the National Olympic Committee of Germany have since demanded their exclusion.
A statement published on Monday afternoon recommended that such athletes and officials should be barred by international sports federations and event organisers "in order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants".
It added that wherever this was not possible for organisational or legal reasons, such athletes should not compete under the name Russia or Belarus and should be classed as neutrals.
The statement added: "Wherever, in very extreme circumstances, even this is not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons, the IOC EB leaves it to the relevant organisation to find its own way to effectively address the dilemma described above.
"In this context, the IOC EB considered in particular the upcoming Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and reiterated its full support for the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Games."
This evening, the British Olympic Association together with the National Olympic Committee of Germany demanded the immediate exclusion of Russia and Belarus from the international sports family until further notice.
In a joint statement the organisations said: "We call on the international sports federations to ban athletes representing Russia and Belarus from competitions for the time being and to suspend Russian and Belarusian officials from their positions."
"We stand united with the people, athletes and the Olympic family of Ukraine, following this unacceptable and unwarranted declaration of war against them."
Meanwhile, the International Paralympic Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss Russia ahead of this week's Beijing Winter Games.
The IPC said it would be discussing Russia at a board meeting on Wednesday, two days before the start of the 4-13 March Paralympics.
"The IPC Board when discussing this matter at Wednesday's Board meeting will focus on the IPC Constitution and the rules of the IPC handbook," the IPC said on Monday.
"Wednesday is the earliest this meeting can take place with Board members in transit coming to Beijing from around world."
Some 650 athletes from 49 national paralympic committees will take part.
As things stand, Russian athletes are set to compete in China under the Russian Paralympic Committee banner.
That change in name is a consequence of earlier sanctions imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency over state-sponsored doping in Russia.
The IOC statement is likely to have an impact on world championships across many sports scheduled to take place later this year, such as the multi-sport European Championships in Munich in August, the rowing World Championships in the Czech Republic in September, the Track Cycling World Championships in France in October and the Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool across October and November.
The IOC has also withdrawn the Olympic Order - the highest award in the Olympic Movement - from members of the Russian government including president Vladimir Putin.
Last week it advised international sports federations to move or cancel any events set to be staged in Russia or Belarus.
The IOC has said international sports federations should either move or cancel sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus, while the IOC's executive said Russian and Belarusian national flags should not be displayed at international sports events.
On Monday, UEFA and FIFA announced that all Russian national and club football sides were suspended until further notice.
Formula One's governing body is due to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the future of Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.
The Automobile Federation of Ukraine president Leonid Kostyuchenko has demanded the FIA bans all Russian and Belarusian drivers from competing outside of their own countries.
Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina heaped pressure on the sport’s governing bodies to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from competition.
"We, Ukrainian players, requested to ATP, WTA and ITF to follow the recommendations of the IOC to accept Russian or Belarusian nationals only as neutral athletes, without displaying any national symbols, colours, flags or anthems," Svitolina posted on Instagram.
"Accordingly I want to announce that I will not play tomorrow in Monterrey, nor any other match against Russian or Belarusian tennis players until our organisations take this necessary decision.
"I do not blame any of the Russian athletes. They are not responsible for the invasion of our motherland.
"Moreover, I wish to play tribute to all the players, especially Russians and Belarusians, who bravely stated their position against the war. Their support is essential."
