In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Yamaha Motor Company has announced a $700,000 humanitarian relief donation to Ukraine and its neighboring regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of neighboring Ukraine on February 24, which was highly criticised by Western nations.
As a result of the war, many western countries have imposed harsh sanctions on Russia, and athletic authorities all over the world have blacklisted Russian athletes and events.
The FIM, the regulatory body of MotoGP, has canceled all events in Russia and barred Russian and Belarusian license holders from participating in FIM-sanctioned races.
The Haas team terminated connections with title sponsor Uralkali and driver Nikita Mazepin, whose father Dmitry runs the firm, as the most high-profile motorsport-related consequence of the Russian sanctions.
Both Mazepins are on the UK and EU’s sanctions lists for high-profile Russian figures.
Since the beginning of the war, many sports series and athletic entities have done their part to assist Ukraine.
Yamaha is the latest corporation associated with motorsport to do so, saying on Thursday that it will donate $700,000 in humanitarian help to Ukraine ahead of this weekend’s MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix.
Yamaha, the 2021 MotoGP title winners with Fabio Quartararo, made a brief statement to the media expressing their “deepest sympathy” to the people of Ukraine.
“Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced its decision today to donate 700,000 U.S. dollars toward humanitarian aid for Ukraine and its surrounding regions.”
“This donation will be made through Japan Platform, a non-profit organisation, and the funds will be used explicitly for delivering humanitarian aid to those in need.
“Yamaha Motor expresses its deepest sympathies to all the victims affected by this crisis and hopes for a return to peace as quickly as possible.”
MotoGP arranged its pre-season group photo of the riders in front of a banner that said ‘together for peace’ in recognition of the war in Ukraine ahead of the season-opening Qatar GP last week.
Several riders, notably Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli, have put the statement on their crash helmets, while several teams have added support for Ukraine on their motorcycles.
