A decision has been made by the IJF Executive Committee to permit judoka from the two countries to compete as individual neutral athletes.

The IJF announced the ruling allows the possibility for "fair participation" and "equal chances to all judo athletes who are pursuing their Olympic dreams".

The move will raise Russia and Belarus' hopes of featuring at the World Championships where the IJF said "significant points" will be on offer towards qualification for next year's Olympics in Paris.

Qatari capital Doha is due to stage the World Championships from May 7 to 14.

Judo is the latest Olympic sport to lift its ban on Russia and Belarus after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruled last month they should be allowed to return to the global sporting stage as neutrals provided they do not support the war in Ukraine and are not affiliated to the military.

The IJF revealed that its Executive Committee had decided to engage an "independent, reputable company" to perform background checks on all the individuals proposed for participation, including "social media content with specific reference to possible war propaganda".

It states that only those who have been cleared during the verification process would be eligible to compete in events by the IJF Executive Committee.

Following the decision, a team called "Individual Neutral Athletes" featuring eight male and three female judoka appeared on the IJF website.

According to Ukrainian website sport.ua, at least seven of those are representatives of the Central Army Sports Club, better known as CSKA. 

Among those is Olympic bronze medallist Niyaz Ilyasov, reportedly a senior lieutenant for the Russian armed forces.

The list also includes Tamerlan Bashaev, Mikhail Igolnikov, Ilan Tasoyev, Alexandra Babintseva, Madina Taymazova and Sabina Gilyazov who are linked to the Russian military, according to Ukrainian media.

The decision to readmit Russian and Belarusian judoka as neutrals has been met with anger in Ukraine, with athletes slamming the move.

"I believe that it is unacceptable to allow military personnel of a terrorist country, which kills Ukrainians every day, to participate in international competitions," said Ukraine's Daria Bilodid, an Olympic bronze medallist and two-time world champion, in a report by Tribuna.

"This is not at all about sports values.

"This is low."

Another Ukrainian judoka Bohdan Yadov, a reigning European champion, added: "The World [Championships] has always been my dream, and it's getting further and further away.

"Today, the IJF admitted athletes from Russia and Belarus. 

"I will not write about justice, I realised a long time ago that it does not exist, but why on the last day, when I gave all my strength for three months and was preparing to fulfill my dream?

"How can you show such disrespect to our judokas? 

"Maybe you're afraid of the world's reaction, then it's even more unfortunate."

Earlier this month, the Ukrainian Government has adopted a resolution punishing National Federations whose athletes participate in competitions involving Russia and Belarus.

The IJF decision would seem to leave Ukraine's participation at the World Championships in serious doubt.

Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin has criticised the decision not to allow athletes from his country to compete under their own flag.

“We didn’t see anything new," said Matytsin in a report by Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"We continue to remain committed to the principle that this is discrimination against our athletes, even despite the granting of a neutral status. according to the rules. 

"Let's see how the situation develops."

The IOC has cited the viewpoints of two Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council in defence of its stance after they advised that a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes would be discriminatory and a violation of human rights.

The IJF also referenced the UN's position when revealed its latest stance on Russia and Belarus, insisting "sport is the main bridge for dialogue and reconciliation".

"The International Judo Federation is an inclusive organisation founded on values, dedicated to promoting and protecting judo as a peaceful means of respecting human rights and supporting international unity, friendship and peace," the IJF said.

"We stand firmly against all forms of aggression, discrimination, war or loss of life. 

"We strongly believe that everyone has the right to participate in sport regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender.

"We look forward to celebrating the values of judo together at the 2023 World Championships with all athletes engaged in Olympic qualification for Paris 2024."

The IJF was one of only a few Olympic International Federations that did not fully follow the IOC's recommendations last year to ban athletes from the aggressor countries outright in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Instead, it ruled that they could compete as neutrals under the IJF flag, anthem and colours.

This resulted in Ukraine boycotting the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam event in Mongolia and the country had threatened to do the same again for the World Championships before the IJF decided in September to impose an outright ban on Russia and Belarus until January 2023.

Judo joins archery, fencing, modern pentathlon, skateboarding, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and wrestling in opting to allow athletes from the two countries to return.

Athletics, badminton, basketball, equestrian, sport climbing and surfing have decided to maintain their bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in their events.