A limited number of Russian athletes will be able to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics under a neutral designation amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee announced Friday.

"Only a very limited number of athletes will qualify through the existing qualification systems of the [International Federations]," the IOC said in a statement.

The decision to allow a limited number of Russian athletes to compete in the 2024 Games comes after the IOC suggested in March that individual Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to return to competition under a neutral status as long as they have no military links.

Belarus has been a military ally to Russia amid the country's invasion of Ukraine, and Belarusian athletes have also been barred from events by the IOC.

The IOC said Friday that any athletes or support personnel "who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be eligible to be entered or to compete."

Additionally, athletes and support personnel "who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or to compete," the IOC said.

Prior to the start of the war, Russia sent 335 athletes to the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Russian athletes competed under the Russian Olympic Committee as part of consequences for the country's doping scandal.

Russian and Belarusian athletes who are approved to take part in the 2024 Olympics will compete without their nation's flag, colors and anthem. The IOC said Friday that eight Russians and three Belarusians are among those to have qualified for the Summer Games.

While individual athletes will be allowed to compete, Russia and Belarus remain banned from team sports such as soccer and water polo.

While Russia has maintained that restrictions on its athletes are "politicized and unacceptable," Ukrainian athletes and officials have called on the IOC to ban Russian athletes entirely from Olympic competition.