Nothing has changed. That’s the blunt case Ukraine’s government is putting to the FIA, and it’s hard to argue with the logic: the war that got Russia banned from international motorsport in the first place hasn’t stopped, hasn’t slowed down, and by the minister’s account is getting worse. So why has the ban been lifted?
Matvii Bidnyi, Ukraine’s Minister for Youth and Sport, didn’t hold back when he spoke to BBC Sport. His central point is simple and difficult to dismiss with the usual governance jargon: the conditions that led to the 2022 ban are still there, in full, and arguably intensified.
“The reasons why Russia was banned from international sports competition have not disappeared. Nothing changes and it became even worse.” – Matvii Bidnyi
A Bombing, an Hour Before the Interview
Bidnyi wasn’t speaking in the abstract. He told the broadcaster that Kyiv’s central rail station had been hit by a Russian drone strike just an hour before the interview took place, and that he and his family had only just emerged from a bomb shelter.
“The air alert was just turning off. Our kids, we all came from the bomb shelter. These attacks continue almost every day.” – Matvii Bidnyi
That’s the backdrop against which the FIA’s world motorsport council decided, on 3 August, to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors that had been in place since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The FIA didn’t act alone, it followed the International Olympic Committee’s own reversal, and pointed out that other federations had made similar moves. That’s true. It’s also not much of a defence.
Why Soften Now?
Bidnyi’s frustration goes beyond the sporting technicalities. He says the timing, and the signal it sends, makes no sense given what’s actually happening on the ground.
“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. I don’t understand, and Ukrainian people, and I know that all European people don’t understand what’s happened, why now we must to make this policy softer.” – Matvii Bidnyi
He’s also pointed to the fact that not every governing body has followed the FIA and IOC down this road. World Athletics, for one, has held firm, and Russian Athletics has responded by filing a claim with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge the sanctions still in place.
Judo, Weightlifting, and the Pattern Bidnyi Sees
Bidnyi frames the FIA’s move as part of a wider pattern he finds deeply troubling, one where individual federations peel away from a united front piece by piece.
“When any federation lifts the ban and makes steps towards the aggressor, the terrorist state, it’s always really, really sad. 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. Unfortunately, there are a lot of international sports organisations trying to lift bans to release pressure from the aggressor. We can observe it in such a federation as judo, weightlifting, and then a lot of others.” – Matvii Bidnyi
He singled out biathlon and athletics as bodies that, in his view, still understand what’s at stake.
“But we have strong partners and strong principle international organisations, for example, biathlon or athletics, who understand the responsibility of the international sports community for international order and justice.” – Matvii Bidnyi
The Sportswashing Accusation
Bidnyi’s sharpest line is reserved for what he sees as the actual purpose of readmitting Russian athletes to global competition. It’s not really about sport, he argues, it’s about image management for a state that badly needs some.
“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.” – Matvii Bidnyi
That’s a serious charge, and it’s one the FIA hasn’t directly addressed. Its most recent statement on the matter, issued last week, stuck to the procedural script: a vote was held, the requirements for Russian and Belarusian drivers were updated, and this simply mirrored the IOC’s own decision from 7 July and moves by other federations.
“The FIA has updated the requirements for Russian and Belarusian drivers, national teams, competitors and officials following a vote by the world motorsport council. This follows an announcement by the IOC on 7th July and similar updates issued by other international sporting federations. The FIA maintains its ban on organising events and competitions in Russia and Belarus. The FIA continues to monitor the situation closely in Ukraine and reserves the right to update its position in the future.” – FIA spokesperson
Note what’s carefully preserved there: no races or events can actually be held on Russian or Belarusian soil. That’s the one line the FIA won’t cross. Everything else, drivers competing under their own flag, national symbols on display, anthems presumably back on the table, has been quietly waved through.
A Wider Legal Front
Ukraine isn’t limiting itself to strongly worded quotes. Its motorsport federation, the FAU, has escalated its own complaint against the decision, taking the matter to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal after previously requesting an urgent investigation from the FIA’s ethics body. The FAU argues that lifting the ban effectively penalises Ukraine and its partner countries, since some nations restrict participation in events where the aggressor state’s symbols are displayed.
The FAU has also raised a separate and, on paper, quite awkward issue: it alleges that the Russian Automobile Federation has opened offices in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, Sevastopol, and parts of the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, territory the United Nations recognises as sovereign Ukrainian land. Given FIA rules only permit one recognised automobile federation per country, the FAU says this amounts to a breach of the FIA’s own statutes. FAU president Oleksandr Feldman didn’t mince words on that point either, arguing that you cannot become a legitimate national sporting authority through drones and missiles, and calling for Russia’s federation to face sanctions of its own. Feldman’s federation also flagged that the RAF’s head, Boris Rotenberg, is subject to international sanctions imposed by the US, UK, EU and other jurisdictions.
An Uncomfortable Silence
The FIA has been contacted for comment on Bidnyi’s remarks and, as of publication, hasn’t offered a fresh response beyond last week’s statement. That silence is starting to look less like caution and more like an organisation that knows its position is difficult to defend once you put it next to a minister describing air raid sirens and bomb shelters in the same breath as governance procedure.
The FIA can point to the IOC, to other federations, to the narrow carve-out that still bans events on Russian and Belarusian soil, all it wants. What it can’t do is pretend the war that triggered the original ban has ended, because it hasn’t, and Ukraine’s government is not going to let that inconvenient fact get lost in the paperwork.
