Ukraine has lodged a formal complaint with the ethics committee of motorsport’s governing body the FIA following the decision to lift the ban on Russian competitors in international events.
The Ukrainian Automobile Federation (FAU) has requested an urgent investigation into its Russian counterpart, the RAF.
The ban on individuals from Russia and Belarus competing in international motorsport events had been in place since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The move was approved by the FIA world council, to which sources have told BBC Sport it was proposed by FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem.
The FAU says the Russian Automobile Federation has “opened and continues to operate” offices in regions of Ukraine occupied by Russia – Crimea, the city of Sevastopol and the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts.
These are recognised by the United Nations as sovereign Ukrainian territory.
The FAU says these actions are in breach of both the FIA statutes and its international sporting code, which permit only one automobile club per country.
FAU president Oleksandr Feldman said: “This is a clear breach of the FIA statutes by the Russian Automobile Federation, which, as an FIA member organisation, is bound to comply with them.
“We urge the FIA president to take urgent action to have these offices closed, and for the Russian automobile federation to be sanctioned for its actions.”
The Ukrainian club has requested the FIA ethics committee find the RAF in breach of FIA statutes and order it to close the offices with immediate effect.
The statement also points out that the head of the RAF, Boris Rotenberg, is “directly subject to international sanctions imposed by the US, UK, EU, and other allied jurisdictions in response to aggression against Ukraine”.
The decision to lift the ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors followed a similar move by the International Olympic Association.
Following changes to the FIA statutes last year, the FIA ethics committee is under the control of Ben Sulayem and his ally the president of the senate, Carmello Sanz de Barros.
The FIA has been approached for comment.
