RUSADA Supervisory Board chairman Alexander Ivlev announced the body would contest the range of sanctions handed down by WADA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), following its meeting in Moscow today.

Confirmation of the appeal - which must be filed by December 30 - came on the same day as Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his annual press conference, where he claimed the sanctions from WADA were "unfair" and the decision "goes against common sense".

RUSADA was declared non-compliant by the WADA Executive Committee last week, triggering a four-year package of punishments, including a ban on the Russian flag at the Olympic Games and World Championships.

Russia is also set to be stripped of World Championships it has been awarded and the country has been barred from bidding for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

However, Russian athletes who can prove they had no involvement in the doping scandal or the cover-up will be able to compete at major events as neutrals.

The implementation of the sanctions, imposed after WADA found data from the Moscow Laboratory had been tampered with before it was handed to the global watchdog in January, will be delayed following confirmation of the RUSADA appeal at CAS.

They will only come into force once CAS makes its final ruling in a case which is likely to drag on towards next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Should CAS rule in WADA's favour, it will be mandatory for all signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code - including the International Olympic Committee - to enact the range of punishments.

Jonathan Taylor, head of the Compliance Review Committee which recommended the series of punishments, is confident the ruling will be upheld at CAS.

Putin reiterated his criticism of WADA in his traditional end-of-year press conference today, claiming the country had been "punished for the same thing twice".

"In my opinion, this decision is not only unjust, but it also goes against common sense," Putin said, according to Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"Decisions were made against athletes competing under a neutral flag at the previous Olympics.

"The WADA decision contradicts the Olympic Charter.

"If there are no claims against the Russian Olympic Committee, the national team must be competing under the national flag, while we have to render support and assistance.

"Any punishment should be individual. 

"If anyone is caught, then [punishment] is absolutely natural and fair. 

"But if the overwhelming majority of athletes are clean, how can they slap sanctions on them?"