Ukraine’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Matvii Bidnyi, has criticised the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) for reversing restrictions on Russian and Belarusian competitors, arguing that the circumstances that prompted the original ban remain unchanged.
The restrictions were introduced in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, the FIA World Motor Sport Council voted on August 3 to remove the measures, following a broader shift in international sports policy after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took a similar step.
Bidnyi said the decision was unacceptable while Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine continues, insisting that the developments that led international sporting organisations to restrict Russian participation have not disappeared.
“The reasons why Russia was banned from international sports competition have not disappeared. Nothing changes and it became even worse,” Bidnyi said, according to BBC Sport.
The Ukrainian minister pointed to the continued military conflict and the ongoing loss of civilian lives as reasons for maintaining restrictions on Russian participation in international sport. He also highlighted Belarus’s continued support for Russia, arguing that the wider security circumstances surrounding the original sanctions remain in place.
“Russia continues full-scale aggression against Ukraine. Belarus can continue to provide military support to Russia. Ukrainian people are still being killed every day. And Russian attacks become more and more brutal,” he said.
For Kyiv, the issue goes beyond motorsport. Bidnyi argued that sporting sanctions have formed part of the wider international pressure placed on Russia since the invasion and warned that individual federations reversing their restrictions could weaken that collective approach.
“When any federation lifts the ban and makes steps towards the aggressor, the terrorist state, it’s always really, really sad,” he said.
“It’s a massive disappointment for everyone in Ukraine. And we think it undermines the collective pressure that the international community has been building against the aggressor.”
The Ukrainian government has therefore urged international sporting bodies to maintain tougher measures against Russian participation until the conditions that prompted the restrictions have fundamentally changed.
Bidnyi cited World Athletics and organisations governing biathlon and athletics as examples of sporting bodies that have retained stronger restrictions on Russian competitors. He argued that the different approaches among international federations risk creating an inconsistent response to Russia’s involvement in global sport.
The Ukrainian minister also accused Moscow of using elite sport to advance state interests and improve its international image. According to Bidnyi, sporting success in Russia is closely connected to government and military structures and can therefore be used to present a more favourable image of the country internationally.
“In Russia, elite sport is deeply connected with the military and state propaganda system. It’s one of the biggest whitewashing mechanisms. This is why we call it sportswashing,” he said.
Ukraine has repeatedly highlighted the effects of the war on its own sporting sector. The government says hundreds of athletes and coaches have been killed since Russia’s invasion, while hundreds of sports facilities have also been destroyed.
The impact has left Ukraine’s sporting community dealing with both the loss of personnel and damage to facilities needed for training and competition. Against that background, Kyiv views international restrictions on Russian sport as part of the broader support for Ukraine rather than simply as an issue concerning sporting eligibility.
The FIA, however, has maintained that its revised approach does not amount to a complete removal of all restrictions connected with Russia and Belarus. The governing body said events and competitions organised in Russia and Belarus remain banned while it continues to monitor developments in Ukraine.
The updated requirements apply to Russian and Belarusian drivers, national teams, competitors and officials and were introduced after the IOC changed its own position, alongside similar adjustments made by other international sporting federations.
The distinction has not satisfied the Ukrainian government. Bidnyi’s criticism centres on the decision to permit Russian and Belarusian competitors to return to international motorsport despite the continuation of the war.
The dispute reflects the wider challenge facing global sport since Russia invaded Ukraine. International federations have had to balance sporting participation against political and security concerns, while governments and sporting officials remain divided over whether restrictions should remain in place for as long as hostilities continue.
For Ukraine, maintaining those restrictions is a means of preserving international pressure on Russia and demonstrating solidarity with Ukrainians affected by the war. Bidnyi believes easing them sends the opposite message at a time when the conflict is still ongoing.
The FIA’s position, meanwhile, indicates that it has aligned its rules concerning individual competitors with the changing recommendations and decisions of the IOC and other sporting organisations, while retaining a ban on organising events and competitions in Russia and Belarus.
The disagreement is therefore likely to remain part of the broader debate over Russia’s return to international sport. While some sporting authorities have begun easing participation restrictions, Ukraine continues to argue that Russia should remain isolated from international competition until the conditions that led to its exclusion are no longer present.
For Bidnyi, the continued war means that point has not been reached. His criticism of the FIA reflects Kyiv’s position that international sport should continue contributing to pressure on Russia rather than normalising its participation while the conflict in Ukraine continues.
Ukraine Condemns FIA Decision to Lift Restrictions on Russian and Belarusian Motorsport Competitors
Ukrainian Minister for Youth and Sport Matvii Bidnyi Photo: GETTY IMAGES
