China has rejected a report that said its officials told their Russian counterparts to delay an invasion of Ukraine until after the Beijing Winter Olympics. Experts say the flap indicates Chinese leaders could have known an attack was coming and that such a discovery would taint China’s reputation in the West.

Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called the March 3 New York Times report “pure fake news.” The newspaper cited a Western intelligence report saying senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Feb. 4-20 Games. The war began a week ago.

“Such practice of diverting attention and blame-shifting is despicable,” Wang told a regular news conference Thursday.

“The ins and outs of the developments of the Ukraine issue are very clear. The crux of the issue is known to all,” he said.

In Washington, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said the report’s “claims are speculation without any basis and are intended to blame-shift and smear China.”

National leaders seldom tell one another in advance about upcoming wars, so information between Russia and China would point to a special relationship, said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

“It is important, because it shows the nature and the depth of the China-Russia relations,” Sun said. “If China identifies with Russian invasions, then China is an accomplice. We cannot expect China to respond in a constructive way.”

In the United States, which has harshly criticized Russia’s invasion, State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter said Thursday that supporters of Moscow will land on the “wrong side of history” and that “the world has been watching to see which nations stand up for Ukraine.”

Sino-Russian ties have grown closer over the past year, but China positioned itself this week as a mediator between war-divided Russia and Ukraine rather than a backer of Moscow.

China’s ties with Russia still rank as an “extremely high priority,” said Andrew Small, a senior fellow with the trans-Atlantic cooperation advocacy group German Marshall Fund. The two competed with Washington during the Cold War and have again realigned themselves against the West in recent years.

China probably expected Russia to win quickly in Ukraine, as it has in its past wars, Small said.

“I think the sense that China acted as an enabler for Russia in the runup to this is not something that’s going to go away, and that’s one of the areas where there will be a lot of collateral damage in different ways economically for China and in their relations with other countries in Europe in particular,” he said.

China probably had at least an inkling of Russia’s designs for Ukraine before the Olympics and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to delay the attack as not to distract from the Games, said Alexander Vuving, a professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, in Hawaii.

Leaders in Beijing could not easily have influenced Putin’s overall decision whether to invade Ukraine, Vuving added.

“What China could do was to persuade Putin to delay the attack [until] after the Olympics, which Putin did, so I think that was realistic and it indicated a very high level of cooperation between China and Russia,” he said.
…

As the train from Lviv limps across the Polish border, children peer from the windows, their curiosity undimmed by the horrors they have left behind. Beside them, crammed tightly into the carriages, their mothers and grandparents sit bewildered, terrified and exhausted.

As the trains pulls into Przemyśl, teams of Polish guards and volunteers help them onto the platform. They are Europe’s newest refugees.

There are only women and children. They leave behind their husbands, their fathers, their sons. The men must stay to fight. The agony of parting is etched in every face.

Their shattered lives have been reduced to a suitcase full of clothes and a few cherished mementos, thrown together in the panicked final hours of escape. Family pets have joined the exodus — cats in plastic cages, dogs straining at the leash.

From Przemyśl, the refugees can change trains to travel across Poland and beyond, free of charge. Dozens of countries have offered free rail travel for Ukrainians fleeing the war. The European Union has given Ukrainians the right to live and work in the bloc for three years.

Anastasia, who did not want to give her family name, fled her home in Kyiv along with her son and daughter. The family is hoping to reach Lithuania.

“We will go on. We will get through it,” she said, fighting back tears. “I hope that everything will end well and that our Ukraine will win. I want to return. I want to go home.”

Every family has a similar story of loss and fear.

More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled the country in the first week of Russia’s invasion, according to the United Nations, with over 500,000 crossing into Poland. A further million are internally displaced within Ukraine. The EU predicts that up to 7 million Ukrainians could leave in the coming weeks.

There is already a large Ukrainian migrant population in Poland, and many refugees can stay with friends or family, which has helped ease the pressure on authorities. Others are housed in shelters set up in schools, hotels and warehouses.

Thousands of foreign nationals are also trying to escape the war. Kaleb Poitier, originally from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, was studying electrical engineering in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. He fled with his Ukrainian girlfriend as the Russian attacks began.

“Every time there was a bombardment, we had to go down to the basement to take refuge. The transport no longer works. The internet is almost cut off. It was very difficult,” Poitier told VOA.

“For one week we slept at the border on the way to get here. Now we’re fine, I can say that in Poland, we’ve been well received so far. We are here to wait to take the bus to go to the other side (of Europe), to other countries, maybe to get to France,” Poitier said.

Volunteers from dozens of countries have come to the Polish border to help, offering food, clothing and shelter. Many hold up cardboard signs offering free car rides to destinations across Europe.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are also fleeing by car or on foot, dragging their few belongings across the border crossing at the Polish village of Medyka.

But it’s not one-way traffic. Many Ukrainians are heading back home to fight. VOA spoke to three former soldiers as they prepared to cross back to their home country from Poland to fight the Russian army.

“It’s a normal reaction,” said Viktor, who did not want to give his full name. “We will beat (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and everything will be fine. We will send Russian tanks and armored vehicles straight to hell.”
…

More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled the country in the first week of Russia’s invasion, according to the United Nations. Henry Ridgwell reports from the border between Ukraine and Poland, where most of the refugees are fleeing.
…

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, long friendly with Moscow, took pains Thursday to explain to his ruling party and government why his administration joined dozens of other countries in co-sponsoring this week’s U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We do not support the use of force and readiness to use force or the threatened use of force,” he said in an audio message that also expressed the hope that Russia would “understand” his decision.

He said that Cambodia could not remain silent as Russia countered the Southeast Asian nation’s own policies and “the situation in Ukraine worsens,” according to a transcript of the message released to the public by the office of the spokesperson of the Royal Government of Cambodia on Thursday night.

Hun Sen also said his government was working to address the crisis within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Cambodia is chair this year.

“We are in discussions with other ASEAN members to issue a statement calling for a cease-fire, because without a cease-fire, human life and property will continue to die and be destroyed, making negotiations impossible,” he said. “We must, therefore, decide to call for a cease-fire, which is desirable for negotiations to find a solution. This is on behalf of ASEAN.”

Hun Sen said that Cambodia needed to act within the framework of Cambodia’s own policies, as well as those of ASEAN.

Nearly 100 countries co-sponsored the resolution, which was introduced in the General Assembly after Russia vetoed a similar motion at the U.N. Security Council last week.

Of the 193 U.N. member states, 181 countries voted on the resolution Wednesday. Among them, 141 countries supported the resolution condemning Moscow. Five countries — Russia and its allies Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea — opposed it. Thirty-five countries abstained, including China, a close ally of Cambodia’s; India; and ASEAN members Vietnam and Laos.

Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24, bringing the capital, Kyiv, and other cities under siege. More than 1 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, and if the conflict does not end soon, millions more will be forced to flee Ukraine, according to Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

Hun Sen, who has been prime minister since 1985, said that many countries were condemning the war in Ukraine, and Cambodia needed to take a clear position. He added that at the request of Japan, France, Germany and the United States, Cambodia decided to co-sponsor the resolution with other countries as a matter of necessity.

Hun Sen added that while he understood the move would anger Russia, Cambodia, as a sovereign state, has the right to act and must “protect the truth.” It also has a responsibility as a U.N. member.

“Hopefully, our Russian friend will understand, because what has been done in the past is contrary to our Cambodian policy on foreign policy, in which we do not support the separation of a state. This is the first point,” Hun Sen said. “Second, we do not support the use of force and readiness to use force or the threatened use of force.”

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh welcomed the statement. “The United States is pleased to see Cambodia and Singapore join us and other nations in co-sponsoring a resolution deploring Russian aggression and demanding an end to its unprovoked war against Ukraine,” it said.

“The resolution was supported by most ASEAN nations. The world is taking action to hold Russia accountable.”

Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Monday imposed rare unilateral sanctions on Russia, describing the attack on Ukraine as “an unprovoked military invasion of a sovereign state.” Singapore is also an ASEAN member.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party, the exiled opposition party, also condemned the Russian aggression.

“I believe that whenever we see one country invading another, we cannot take a middle position,” CNRP acting President Sam Rainsy told VOA Khmer late Wednesday. “We must condemn the country that invaded” and “help protect” the affected country if possible. 

Sam Rainsy also called on democratic countries to stand up for the protection of democracy. He praised the spirit of the Ukrainian people fighting to protect the freedom and sovereignty of the country.
…

“We’re publishing this text while there’s still time,” independent Russian media site Meduza said.

“Within a few days, maybe even today, it is possible that there will be no independent media left in Russia,” read the statement published to Meduza’s website Thursday.

The independent media outlet said that Moscow’s regulator, Roskomnadzor, has ordered journalists to refer to Russia’s invasion as a “special military operation.”

Roskomnadzor has warned more than a dozen media outlets, including VOA’s Russian language website, that they will be fined or blocked unless they remove content Russia deems illegal or that details military information.

VOA Acting Director Yolanda Lopez said Wednesday that the network could not comply with the order, adding, “The Russian people deserve unfettered access to a free press.”

Renowned Russian outlets including Ekho Moskvy closed this week, citing warnings over their coverage of the war, and journalists from Russia and Ukraine have been forced to flee or relocate.

Russian state media have also come under pressure, with the EU banning broadcasts and RT America announcing Thursday that it would cease operations in the U.S.

Two prominent Russian independent outlets were forced off the air this week, and access to RFE/RL’s Current Time and Crimea.Realities was blocked.

The board of iconic liberal radio station Ekho Moskvy on Thursday voted to liquidate the station and website.

Ekho Moskvy was taken off the airwaves Tuesday along with Dozhd TV after they failed to comply with orders from the regulator over their coverage.

In its decision, the prosecutor cited the station’s sharing “of information calling for extremist activities, violence and deliberately false information about the actions of Russian forces as part of a special operation” in Ukraine.

Editor-in-chief Alexei Venediktov told Reuters at the time, “Our editorial policies won’t change.”

Several staff members from Dozhd TV have left Russia, citing censorship and safety concerns.

With access to the website blocked and reports of harassment, “it is obvious that the personal safety of some of us is under threat,” Editor-in-chief Tikhon Dzyadko told reporters.

“No matter how black and nasty it is now, and no matter how happy some are with our decision, we will still win. This is inevitable, because the truth ultimately wins,” he added.

International reaction

The U.S. and the European Union have condemned Russian censorship over coverage of its war in Ukraine.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Thursday that Moscow “is engaged in a full assault on media freedom and the truth.”

Psaki cited the media regulator threats to Ekho Moskvy, Dozhd and VOA’s Russian Service, bans on terms used to describe the war, and restrictions on social media platforms.

“What they are trying to do is block any information about what they are doing to invade a sovereign country, and they’re taking severe steps to do exactly that,” she said.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said late Wednesday that Russia’s efforts to “mislead and suppress the truth” about the country’s invasion of Ukraine were intensifying, and that the Russian people deserved to know the truth about what’s happening.

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told VOA that Moscow’s “manipulation and censorship of the media is appalling.”

“The Russian people deserve access to the truth about Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression and instead are being fed lies by the Putin regime,” said McCaul. “The U.S. must continue to robustly support independent media to counter Russian propaganda and disinformation.”

The EU has also condemned censorship and disinformation. Member states on Wednesday voted to block transmissions of Russian-backed state media, including Sputnik and RT.

RT America on Thursday announced it would cease operations immediately, citing moves by providers that dropped its broadcasts this week.

Broadcaster Holland Cooke, who hosted a weekly show on RT America, said on a news website that management called a meeting Thursday and announced the U.S. division would cease operations because of condemnation over Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

A memo sent to staff said production would stop “due to unforeseen business interruption events,” CNN reported.

Media support

Moscow’s independent journalists are standing in solidarity with their colleagues. More than 200 signed an open letter protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Novaya Gazeta, the renowned Russian outlet run by Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov, on Tuesday said it would offer space to Ekho Moskvy and other media on its site.

Across Europe, media are also offering help and assistance to journalists forced to flee.

Kosovo on Wednesday allocated 150,000 euros or $165,000 toward six months of living costs, wages and shelter for up to 20 Ukrainian journalists.

Priority will be given to female reporters recommended by the European Federation of Journalists and European Center for Press and Media Freedom, Reuters reported.

The London-based media trade magazine The Fix, which focuses on media in Europe, has also offered practical support, setting up partnerships with newsrooms to provide tech and relocation support, and regional hubs so journalists can keep reporting.

“In peaceful times, The Fix is a trade publication and knowledge hub that covers media management in Europe,” Zakhar Protsiuk, the outlet’s managing editor, told VOA via email. “[But] in the first hours of the Russian invasion, we reorganized our work to support Ukrainian media.”

The Fix, which has strong Ukrainian ties, said it was connecting European outlets such as the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, Germany’s Axel Springer and others with journalists in need of equipment and support in Ukraine or help setting up hubs across Europe so they can keep publishing.

Protsiuk said they were working with independent media in Ukraine and partners in a nongovernmental organization, the Media Development Foundation.

“The Fix team has a lot of experience in working in difficult environments,” Protsiuk said. “My colleagues have been providing help for media working in eastern Ukraine; we are working with many Belarus independent media who had to flee the country.”

Members of the Council of Europe Platform to Promote Journalist Safety released a joint statement to demand the safety of news crews.

“We emphasize that journalists are considered civilians under international humanitarian law and are not legitimate targets,” the statement said.

The platform called for “urgent and practical international assistance and support” for those covering the conflict, saying independent news is essential in conflict situations.

“Their work helps keep people safe and ensures that the international community can understand the full consequences of this invasion and its appalling impact on human lives,” the statement added.
…

It’s unclear if Russian President Vladimir Putin expected the sanctions that followed his invasion of Ukraine. But their severity could have far-reaching economic consequences for Russia. Oksana Bedratenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.
…

Following moves by tech companies and the EU to reduce the visibility of Russian state media site RT, the network says it will begin streaming its content on a YouTube-like platform called Rumble.

“RT gets ready to… Rumble: After a multitude of platforms have moved to knock out our broadcast and limit social media…,” RT wrote in a Thursday tweet.

According to a statement on the Rumble website, the company “was built on the belief that all creators should have the opportunity to freely express themselves and reach their followers without censorship or restrictions.”

As of Thursday, the RT livestream in English was still functioning on YouTube in the United States.

On February 27, the European Union announced it was “banning Russia Today and Sputnik from broadcasting in the Union.” YouTube reportedly also blocked RT in the EU.

Twitter announced Monday that it will start labeling and making it harder for users to see tweets about the invasion of Ukraine that contain information from Russian state media like RT and Sputnik.

Facebook has similar measures.

A popular streaming service called Roku removed the RT channel from its channel store in Europe, Reuters reported.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
…

The United Nations’ high commissioner for refugees said Thursday that one million people have fled Ukraine in the past week alone, one of the fastest and largest mass exoduses of people in conflict situations in decades.  

“Hour by hour, minute by minute, more people are fleeing the terrifying reality of violence. Countless have been displaced inside the country,” Filippo Grandi said in a statement. “And unless there is an immediate end to the conflict, millions more are likely to be forced to flee Ukraine.”

Intensification of the Russian offensive has seen multiple cities across the country come under air and ground attack in the past week. Russian tanks and armored vehicles are continuing to roll through the country threatening several large cities.

Grandi told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that he had not seen “such an incredibly fast-rising exodus of people – the largest, surely, within Europe, since the Balkan wars.”

He said unless there is an immediate halt to the conflict, people will continue to flee.

“We are currently planning – repeat: planning – for up to four million refugees in the coming days and weeks,” Grandi said Monday.

When he briefed the council on Monday, he said more than 280,000 people had fled to Poland alone. As of Wednesday, UNHCR said the number had nearly doubled to 547,982 people.

Numbers of refugees are also rising quickly in Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Romania and other European countries. Nearly 50,000 people, primarily from eastern Ukraine, have also sought refuge in Russia.

The U.N. Children’s agency, UNICEF, says half of those fleeing the country are children.

The U.N. appealed Tuesday for $1.7 billion to meet emergency needs inside and in neighboring countries for the next three months. Nations stepped up immediately with $1.5 billion in pledges. UNHCR hopes to assist 2.4 million refugees and asylum-seekers with money from the appeal.

The United States announced $54 million in new humanitarian funding last week for Ukrainians.  

“They are fleeing increasingly violent and widespread strikes by Russian forces against residential areas and infrastructure – from the shelling of hospitals and kindergartens to rockets targeting central city squares,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement. “The human toll of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable attack against its sovereign neighbor is growing exponentially each day.”
…

Ekho Moskvy radio station, one of Russia’s last remaining liberal media outlets, has been dissolved by its board after coming under pressure over its coverage of the war in Ukraine, its editor said on Thursday.

The station, one of the leading news and current affairs channels in Russia, had been taken off the air on Tuesday though it appeared still to be broadcasting on YouTube after the board’s decision was announced.

Ekho Moskvy’s disappearance from the airwaves dealt another blow to independent media in Russia after years of intensifying pressure from the authorities.

“The Ekho Moskvy board of directors has decided by a majority of votes to liquidate the radio channel and the website of Ekho Moskvy,” Editor-in-Chief Alexei Venediktov said on the messaging app Telegram.

Venediktov told Reuters this week that the station would not abandon the independent editorial line that has been its hallmark for three decades, declaring: “Our editorial policies won’t change.”

The board’s decision came after the prosecutor general’s office demanded this week that access be restricted to Ekho Moskvy and the TV Rain online news channel over their coverage of the conflict.

The prosecutor said its move was prompted by their websites’ “targeted and systematic posting … of information calling for extremist activities, violence and deliberately false information about the actions of Russian forces as part of a special operation” in Ukraine.

Russia rejects the term invasion, and says its actions are not designed to occupy territory but to destroy Ukraine’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists — a pretext rejected by Ukraine and the West as baseless propaganda.

Ekho Moskvy said on Tuesday that the accusations against it were baseless and offensive, and it would fight them in the courts.

Pressure on journalists

Russian journalists have faced an increasingly difficult environment in recent years, with many being designated by the authorities as “foreign agents,” a status that snares them in official paperwork and exposes them to public contempt.

Pressure has mounted since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, with most mainstream media outlets and state-controlled organizations sticking closely to language used by the Kremlin to describe the war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment directly on the situation at Ekho Moskvy, saying the decision to close had been taken by its board of directors.

“The radio station violated the law. The right of the prosecutor general’s office to take appropriate measures was used,” he told a briefing.

Asked if Ekho Moskvy could resume operations in the future, Peskov said that was up to the station’s owners.
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Russian and Belarusian athletes were barred on Thursday from the Winter Paralympics in Beijing on the eve of the Games following threats of boycotts by other teams over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said.

Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion, which was launched a week ago.

The decision comes a day after the IPC gave athletes from the two countries the green light to participate as neutrals, saying that the governing body had followed its rules and that “athletes were not the aggressors.”

But that decision led to an outcry and threats from other countries’ National Paralympic Committees (NPC) to boycott the Games, IPC President Andrew Parsons told a news conference in Beijing.

“They told us that if we do not reconsider our decision, it is now likely to have grave consequences for the Winter Games,” Parsons said.

“Multiple NPCs, some of which have been contacted by their governments, teams and athletes, are threatening not to compete.”

Parsons said it was clear the situation put his organization in a “unique and impossible position” so close to the start of the Games, adding that an overwhelming number of members had been in touch and been forthright in their objections to Russia and Belarus taking part.

A 71-member Russian contingent and 12-member team from Belarus are already in Beijing for the Games, which begin on Friday.

Parsons said the Russian and Belarusian athletes were victims of the actions of their governments.

“Athlete welfare will always be a priority for us,” he said.

“If Russian and Belarusian athletes stayed in Beijing, nations were likely to withdraw, and a viable Games would not have been possible.

“The atmosphere in the Games village is not pleasant. The situation there is escalating and has now become untenable … The Games are not only about gold, silver and bronze, but also about sending a strong message of inclusion.”

Parsons said the IPC was likely to face legal consequences but was confident that the right decision had been made.

The IPC said earlier in a statement that following a specially convened meeting, its Governing Board has decided not to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to take part.
…

Ukraine marked one week since Russia invaded the country Thursday, as Russian forces shelled major cities and the number of refugees who have fled Ukraine exceeded 1 million people.

Despite Russian assaults on Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol, Britain’s Defense Ministry said Thursday they all remained in Ukrainian hands.  Unclear was the status of Kherson, with Russian troops present in the city amid disputed claims of who was in control.

“We are a people who in a week have destroyed the plans of the enemy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address early Thursday. “They will have no peace here. They will have no food. They will have here not one quiet moment.”

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov cited expectations ahead of the invasion that Russia would quickly overtake Ukraine, writing on Facebook, “No one, neither in Russia nor in the West, believed that we would last a week.”  He added that while there are challenges ahead, Ukraine has “every reason to be confident.”

Thursday also brought the expectation of a second round of peace talks between the two sides, though there has been little sign of a potential breakthrough.  An initial meeting Monday yielded only plans for further talks.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States remains open to finding a diplomatic solution to the situation, but that Russia must first de-escalate.

“It’s much more difficult for diplomacy to succeed when guns are firing and tanks are rolling,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Blinken is traveling to Europe on Thursday for a series of meetings with NATO and other allies about their response to the Russian invasion.  NATO foreign ministers are holding an extraordinary meeting Friday in Brussels, and on Saturday Blinken travels on to Poland to discuss further security and humanitarian assistance to help refugees who have fled Ukraine.

Poland has taken in half of the more than 1 million refugees who have fled Ukraine in the past week, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.  The U.N. body has said it expects 4 million people could leave Ukraine due to the conflict.

Ukraine’s emergency agency said Wednesday Russia’s attacks have killed more than 2,000 people across the country.

Russia’s Defense Ministry put out its first casualties report, saying 498 of its troops were killed in Ukraine, while more than 1,500 others were wounded.

A senior U.S. defense official told reporters Wednesday Russian forces trying to take the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, were “stalled outside the city center.”

The forces, including a massive Russian convoy, have made “no appreciable movement,” the official said, adding Russian advances on other key cities, such as Chernihiv and Kharkiv had also stalled.

Meanwhile, shipments of defensive aid for Ukraine continued to arrive, according to U.S. officials.

The Pentagon on Wednesday also expressed concerns that Russian forces are getting more aggressive in their targeting, putting civilians and civilian infrastructure in greater danger.

The senior defense official said the U.S. believes that since the invasion began last Thursday, Russia has launched more than 450 missiles, but that Ukraine’s air and missile defense systems remain viable. 

The official said the lack of Russian progress around Kyiv, despite its superior firepower, could be attributed to factors including shortages of fuel and food, and a spirited defense by Ukrainian forces.

“It has slowed because of resistance from the Ukrainians that has been effective and quite creative,” the official said. “They have marshaled their assets quite well. … The will to fight is very strong, in terms of their armed forces but also in terms of their civilian population.”

“We also believe they [Russia] have had morale problems that has led to less than effective operational success,” the official added, cautioning that U.S. intelligence expects Russian forces will adapt in order to continue with the massive assault.

The Pentagon also announced that it is postponing a nuclear missile test launch scheduled for this week. The decision comes days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put his nuclear forces on higher alert.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the decision to delay the test of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Kirby added that the United States would like to see Moscow reciprocate by “taking the temperature down” in the crisis over Ukraine.

Another factor that may be helping the Ukrainians is continued support from NATO and the United States.

Blinken said Wednesday the United States is imposing sweeping sanctions on Russia’s defense sector.

“In total, 22 Russian defense-related entities will be designated, including companies that make combat aircraft, infantry fighting vehicles, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare systems – the very systems now being used to assault the Ukrainian people, abuse human rights, violate international humanitarian law,” Blinken said during a news conference.

Blinken said the United States would also “choke off Belarus’ ability to import key technologies” by imposing export controls on Belarus “to hold the Lukashenka regime accountable for being a co-belligerent in President [Vladimir] Putin’s war of choice.”

VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching, national security correspondent Jeff Seldin, Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb, correspondent Jamie Dettmer, Islamabad Bureau Chief Heather Murdock and White House correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this report.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press,  Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
…

One week into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces continue their push despite condemnation from the United Nations General Assembly, which voted overwhelmingly to reprimand Russia for invading Ukraine. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest.
…

Full developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine   
…

Moscow’s media regulator threatened on Wednesday to block access to VOA’s Russian news network.

In a notice sent to VOA, the regulator Roskomnadzor said that the network’s Russian-language site had 24 hours to remove content that Moscow deems “illegal” or be blocked.

In another sign of the importance all sides attach to how the war is reported to their publics, the European Union announced Wednesday a ban on broadcasts and websites affiliated with Russian state-funded media outlets RT and Sputnik for spreading disinformation.

VOA Acting Director Yolanda Lopez said the network was aware of the media regulator’s order but could not comply.

“This kind of accurate, credible journalism is the reason why our audience in Russia engages with VOA. We find any attempts to interfere with the free flow of information deeply troubling and consider this order in direct opposition to the values of all democratic societies,” Lopez said in a statement.

“The Russian people deserve unfettered access to a free press and, therefore, we cannot comply with the Roskomnadzor’s request,” she added.

The VOA news website is one of a dozen media outlets to be blocked or threatened with fines by Roskomnadzor since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Most warnings relate to content that Moscow deems to be false or that gives information about troops and casualties.

Current Time, a daily news show produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, in partnership with VOA, and RFE/RL’s Crimea.Realities were blocked on Sunday.

RFE/RL and VOA are independent, taxpayer-funded networks under the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

On Tuesday, Roskomnadzor removed the independent broadcasters TV Dozhd and Ekho Moskvy from the airwaves.

Ekho Moskvy’s chief editor, Alexei Venediktov, said the station would contest the regulator’s decision in court, The Associated Press reported.

“We see a political component in it, as well as the introduction of censorship, which is directly prohibited by the Russian Constitution,” Venediktov said.

The regulator’s warning to VOA came on the same day that the European Union said it would ban Russian state media including Sputnik and RT. EU operators will be banned from broadcasting, facilitating or otherwise contributing to the dissemination of content from Sputnik and RT.

“Systematic information manipulation and disinformation by the Kremlin is applied as an operational tool in its assault on Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube said they would comply with the ban.

Roskomnadzor on Wednesday appealed to Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to lift restrictions on the Rossiya Segodnya group that oversees Sputnik and RT.

In a statement, the regulator said the restrictions prevented internet users from accessing “independent sources and aim to create distorted perception of the events.”

Media solidarity

The international community and media watchdogs have condemned attempts by Russia’s media regulator to censor or restrict independent reporting on the war in Ukraine.

On Sunday, Teresa Ribeiro, media freedom representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, called on Russia to “safeguard the free flow of information and media freedom in line with OSCE commitments and international obligations.”

The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) described Roskomnadzor’s actions against Ekho Moskvy and Dozhd TV as concerning, saying their “news and information services have been essential for Russian citizens.”

“The AIB stands in solidarity with all journalists and media colleagues who are bringing essential news and information from Ukraine to audiences in the country and around the world,” AIB Chief Executive Simon Spanswick told VOA via email. “It is essential that they are allowed to work unhindered and without threat to them and their families.”

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists also decried Moscow’s attempts to block news.

“Russian authorities’ restricting of social media platforms and independent media outlets is clear censorship and undermines the free flow of information,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna said Tuesday.

VOA’s Russian-language service is a 24/7 TV and digital news network aimed audiences in Russia, where access to independent news is limited.
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China is positioning itself as a mediator between war-divided Russia and Ukraine so as to be seen as a global leader and earn points in the West, analysts say.

At Ukraine’s request, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi talked by phone Tuesday with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Ukraine is “open to a negotiated settlement” with Russia, Xinhua reported. Kuleba said his country “stands ready to strengthen communication with the Chinese side and looks forward to China’s mediation in achieving a cease-fire,” the report said.

Helping to stop the war would make China seem more intent on establishing peace in Europe than on maintaining its post-Cold War friendship with Russia, which is unpopular in the West, experts say.

A mediation attempt, they say, would also divert international attention from China’s controversial goal of unifying with self-ruled Taiwan. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has not ruled out using force, if needed, to capture it.

Any effort to stop the Ukraine war “improves China’s position from being just a passive actor to showing some leadership role,” said Carl Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

“The longer it [China] stays quiet, the more it undermines the already hard work that China has put in to portray itself as a responsible global leader,” he said.

Western leaders have described China as an expanding military power in Asia and a threat to Taiwan, which is a democracy with strong support in Europe and North America. China has the world’s largest population, at 1.4 billion; second-biggest economy, at $18.1 trillion; and the third-strongest armed forces after the United States and Russia.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year that China would never “invade or bully others, or seek hegemony,” Xinhua reported.

When asked about Ukraine at a news conference last month, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said that respect for the sovereignty of all countries was China’s “consistent and principled position.”

“This is an opportunity to demonstrate that China is not a revisionist power, that it respects international law, respects sovereignty. And if that was the case, then China would likely take a much stronger position on the Ukraine,” said Stephen Nagy, senior associate professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo.

Successful mediation would particularly help China “win kudos with Europe,” Thayer said. That relationship, he said, could lead to more pan-Eurasian trade. In 2020, China was the third-largest partner for European Union exports and the largest partner for EU imports.

Before the call between foreign ministers, China had avoided siding openly with Russia regarding its invasion of Ukraine despite its long, deepening friendship with Moscow. Russia is a former Cold War ally of China and was the anchor of the former communist-run Soviet Union.

China shuns the word “invasion” in describing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But it did not join Russia in vetoing a U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the attack. Its U.N. ambassador has suggested that Ukraine form a “bridge” between the East and West

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday lamented the spread of “jokes of bad taste” about the war in “some ill-intentioned media.”

Russia stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities Wednesday as both sides indicated a willingness to resume talks aimed at ending the war.

Ukrainian authorities say the attacks have killed more than 2,000 people in homes, hospitals and kindergartens.
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Following a spate of real-world bans of Russian athletes from international competition over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, a popular video game company said Wednesday it would start removing Russian teams from some of its most popular products.

EA Sports, which makes popular soccer and hockey video games, said it has “initiated processes” to remove the Russian national team and Russian clubs from its products.

“In line with our partners at FIFA and UEFA, EA Sports has initiated processes to remove the Russian national team and all Russian clubs from EA Sports FIFA products including: FIFA 22, FIFA Mobile and FIFA Online,” the company said in a statement. “We’re also actively evaluating related changes to other areas of our games.”

The company added that it stands “in solidarity” with the Ukrainian people and called for an end to the invasion.

According to the British newspaper The Mirror, there are three Russian club soccer teams in the FIFA 22 game, including CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow and Spartak Moscow. 

The Russian men’s national soccer team is also available for video game players to choose.

Following Russia’s invasion, many sports federations, including soccer, ice skating, tennis and others, banned or barred Russian athletes from competing using the national flag at competitions.
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With the threat of financial sanctions looming, Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich confirmed Wednesday he is trying to sell the Premier League club he turned into an elite trophy-winning machine with his lavish investment.

The speed of Abramovich’s pending exit from Chelsea is striking as he was trying to instigate a plan this past weekend to relinquish some control in order to keep the club under his ownership.

But as Russia’s war on Ukraine entered a seventh day, pressure was growing on the British government to include him among the wealthy Russians to be targeted in sanctions.

“In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club’s sponsors and partners,” Abramovich said in a statement.

Abramovich said he will not be asking to be repaid 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) in loans he has granted the club during 19 years of injecting cash to elevate the team into one of the most successful in Europe. The Blues won the Club World Cup for the first time last month — in front of Abramovich in Abu Dhabi — after securing a second Champions League title last year.

“I have instructed my team to set up a charitable foundation where all net proceeds from the sale will be donated,” he said. “The foundation will be for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine.”
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As Spanish Catholics prepare to give up meat on Fridays as part of the holy season of Lent, a government minister sparked a political row after suggesting eating less meat would be a good idea.

Spain is Europe’s biggest exporter of ham and jamón as it is known in Spanish, is a national gastronomic icon, along with paella or Rioja wine.

So, when Spain’s consumer affairs minister, Alberto Garzón, recently suggested eating less meat would help combat climate change and that said industrial farms could cause pollution, it prompted a fiery national debate about farming methods.

He voiced support for traditional livestock farming methods in which cattle or pigs are allowed to graze.

“That is sustainable; what isn’t sustainable is these so-called mega farms,” Garzón said in an interview with The Guardian, a British newspaper.

“They find a village in a depopulated bit of Spain and put in 4,000 or 5,000 or 10,000 head of cattle. They pollute the soil; they pollute the water and then they export this poor-quality meat from these ill-treated animals.”

The main opposition conservative People’s Party seized on the dispute to try to win over disaffected voters in rural areas.

Pablo Casado, leader of the People’s Party, said in a speech earlier in February  that voters needed “more farming and less communism” – a reference to Garzón’s membership of the far-left United Left party which was linked to the Communist Party.

The dispute created a breech in Spain’s coalition government between the moderate the center-left Socialists and their junior partners, the far-left Unidas Podemos.

Spain’s government said last week that mega farms, which contain more than 10,000 animals, made up only 0.016% of all farms in the country.

Anger

As the debate heated up, angry farmers who were new seeking licenses to open new farms in Lorca, in Murcia, southeastern Spain, stormed the local council last month. Seven were charged with public order offenses and will stand trial later this year.

In Lorca there are 2,040 farms, of which 663 are pork farms, the city council said.

Another town in the Murcia region is Jumilla where 16 pig farms house 240,000 animals, according to the environmental group Save Our Land, or SOL.

The group’s Cati Rodriguez claimed that waste from the animals passes into the local water supply and contaminates the drinking water supply.

“We get our water supply from aquifers but there are such high levels of animal waste that it passes into the water supply. Tests carried out with Greenpeace last year found the level of nitrates was 50% per liter which is above the safe level for human consumption,” she told VOA.

She said the problem was not limited to Jumilla but existed across Spain.

VOA contacted Cefusa, which is responsible for the farms in Jumilla. A spokesperson, who asked not to be named in accordance with company policy, said Cefusa strictly complies with current environmental legislation. “We have adapted our facilities and our production model to the requirements established in the different environmental prevention regulations applicable at the regional, national and European levels in recent years,” the spokesperson said.

In the neighboring region of Castilla la Mancha, home to Miguel de Cervantes’ famously errant knight Don Quixote, there are 1.7 million pigs, according to Spanish government figures.

Emiliano Garcia-Page, the Socialist regional president, has insisted that despite criticism from environmentalists, conditions in large industrial farms comply with European Union health and safety regulations.

As if to prove his point, he invited Garzón to visit a farm.

“When you know how (these farms) work from the inside and how the agri-food industry works, you will see Spain has extraordinary levels of quality and guarantees. Otherwise, you are going to spend your life without being able to order a sausage or a steak,” he said.

Jamón not only holds a symbolic position in society but in economic terms, it is the country’s second most important agricultural export after fruit and vegetables.

In 2020, meat brought $6.09 billion in revenue compared with $7.88 billion from fruit and vegetables.

Germany had long been the largest producer of pork in the European Union but an outbreak of African Swine Fever in 2020 meant Spain took over as the largest exporter to the lucrative Chinese market.

There are several types of Spanish ham which is produced in different ways.

At the top end of the market is jamón iberico de bellota, which is made from black pigs. They are allowed to graze for years in meadows and are fed on acorns and herbs.

Jamón iberico de cebo is made from animals who are fed on animal fodder and cereals. Both are regarded as delicacies as well as jamón serrano.

Processed ham is generally produced in industrial-scale farms in which hundreds, or thousands of animals are kept.

Changing attitudes

Attitudes towards the way animals are treated are changing in Spain.

A survey published in January by the BBVA Foundation, associated with Spain’s second largest bank, found most Spaniards polled reject their use in circuses, bullfights and for use to research cosmetics.

Eight out of ten people said they considered animals should be respected, in the survey of 2,000 people.

Animal rights organizations have carried out a series of high-profile undercover investigations to expose alleged abuse of animals on farms.

The directors of Los Hermanos Carrasco, the company which controls a pig farm in Totana, in Murcia, are to stand trial accused of alleged animal cruelty and offenses against public health after an investigation by Igualdad Animal. They deny the allegations.
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Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik will be banned in the European Union with immediate effect for systematic disinformation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 27-country bloc said on Wednesday in an unprecedented move.

The sanction means EU operators will be prohibited from broadcasting, facilitating or otherwise contributing to the dissemination of any RT and Sputnik content.

Broadcasting licenses or authorization, transmission and distribution arrangements between the two companies and their EU counterparts will also be suspended.

The ban applies to RT’s English unit and operations in Britain, Germany, France and Spain.

“Systematic information manipulation and disinformation by the Kremlin is applied as an operational tool in its assault on Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. “It is also a significant and direct threat to the Union’s public order and security.”

Facebook owner Meta FB.O, Alphabet Inc’s Google GOOGL.O, YouTube and TikTok are already blocking access to RT and Sputnik in the EU. Twitter TWTR.N has said it will comply with the EU ban.
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In his first State of the Union address, U.S. President Joe Biden touted his success in uniting much of the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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In his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, U.S. President Joe Biden touted his success in uniting much of the world against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden said Ukraine is on the front line of the global battle between democracies and autocracies, and that democracy will prevail.

With Putin ratcheting up attacks on major Ukrainian cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv, Biden stood in the House chamber and told Americans the free world is united against Putin’s aggression.

“The free world is holding him accountable,” Biden said. “Along with 27 members of the European Union, including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and many others, even Switzerland are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.”

Biden said Putin badly miscalculated when he launched a full-scale invasion of his neighbor, meeting “a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined” instead of a world that would “roll over.”

“He thought he could divide us at home in this chamber and this nation. He thought he could divide us in Europe as well, but Putin was wrong. We are ready, we are united, and that’s what we did,” Biden said.

The U.S. leader listed some of the major actions the United States and other governments have taken in response to Russia’s invasion, including sanctions against the country’s financial system, a new U.S. Justice Department task force targeting Russian oligarchs, a ban on Russian flights within U.S. air space and direct support to Ukraine in the form of military, economic and humanitarian aid.

“In the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security,” Biden said. “This is a real test. It’s going to take time. So let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people.”

Among the topics not discussed in the address was the chaotic departure of U.S.-led NATO forces from Afghanistan last August. But in the Republican response to Biden’s speech, Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa blasted the president for what she called his failure there.

“The disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal did more than cost American lives; it betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies,” Reynolds said.

Experts said in light of the current crisis, it makes sense that Biden devoted his foreign policy part of the speech to Ukraine, even though much there remains uncertain.

“So now it’s a moment where I think Biden thus far has proved a lot of his experience and value, but it all depends on how things play out in Ukraine,” Brian Katulis, vice president of policy at the Middle East Institute, told VOA.

Another expert told VOA the strong positive, bipartisan response Biden received on his Ukraine remarks will be noticed in Moscow.

“And foreign policy wise, that’s a very important signal,” said Michael Kimmage, professor of history at the Catholic University of America and fellow at the German Marshall Fund. “Putin will be looking for any kind of division or vulnerability in American politics. I think everybody in the room, not just Biden, but everybody in the room knew this is not the moment to send that signal.”

President Biden again made clear the United States will not send troops into Ukraine, but vowed that he and the other members of the NATO alliance will defend NATO territory.

“For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia,” Biden said. “As I have made crystal clear, the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory that is NATO territory with the full force of our collective power. Every single inch.”
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U.S. President Joe Biden said late Tuesday Russian leader Vladimir Putin “badly miscalculated” in his invasion of neighboring Ukraine and the thought that he could make the free world “bend to his menacing ways.”

Biden used the beginning of his State of the Union address to the nation to express support for Ukraine and outline the widespread, unified response from Ukrainian allies that has included sending weapons and aid to Ukraine and imposing strong economic sanctions against Russia.

“Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people,” Biden said. “He will never extinguish their love of freedom. He will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world.”

Biden announced the closing of U.S. air space to all Russian flights and said the U.S. Justice Department is forming a special task force “to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs.”

He reiterated that the United States will not be sending troops to fight in Ukraine, while stating that NATO allies would “defend every inch” of territory in member states.

“The Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage, but the next few days, weeks and months will be hard on them,” Biden said. “Putin has unleashed violence and chaos, but while he may make gains on the battlefield, he will pay a continuing high price over the long run.”

Among the audience in the U.S. Capitol was Ukraine Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova. Many of the lawmakers in attendance wore forms of yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, to show their support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with Biden by phone Tuesday about sanctions against Russia and defense aid for Ukraine.

“We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, faced increased Russian shelling Tuesday, including a strike at the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building in the center of the city that Zelenskyy called “undisguised terror” and a war crime.

A day after hours of talks with Russian officials yielded no resolution on Ukraine’s demands for a cease-fire and a withdrawal of Russian forces, Zelenskyy again called for a halt in fighting to give negotiations a chance.

“It’s necessary to at least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table,” Zelenskyy told Reuters and CNN in a joint interview in a heavily guarded government compound in Kyiv.

A U.S. defense official told reporters that despite instances of Russian forces in some areas being slowed by logistical problems, the Russian military still has significant combat resources that have not yet been utilized in Ukraine.

One closely watched situation is the approach of a kilometers-long Russian column that has been making its way toward Kyiv.

The official said the U.S. assesses that since the invasion began last Thursday, Russia has launched more than 400 missiles, and that Ukraine’s air and missile defense systems remain viable.

International pressure on Russia continues, with Canada announcing Tuesday it will refer the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court for a probe of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Ukraine.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Tuesday that Russian shelling of civilian infrastructure that took place Monday in Kharkiv “violates the laws of war.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed allegations of war crimes and told reporters that “Russian troops don’t conduct any strikes against civilian infrastructure and residential areas,” despite extensive, mounting evidence of Kremlin attacks on homes, schools and hospitals documented by reporters.

The United Nations General Assembly is also expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution calling for Russia to immediately withdraw its military forces from Ukraine and condemning Putin’s move earlier this week to “increase the readiness” of Russia’s nuclear forces.

The resolution, which is non-binding but does signal international opinion, follows a failed effort at the U.N. Security Council where Russia used its veto power to block a similar resolution.

In addition to sanctions that have directly targeted Russia’s banking system and figures close to Putin, many companies have halted their Russian operations in response to the invasion.

Exxon Mobil said it would exit Russia, joining other oil companies such as Shell and BP. Apple stopped selling iPhones and other products in Russia, while car maker Ford and airplane manufacturer Boeing announced they are suspending Russian operations.

Reuters reported late Tuesday that Russian President Putin issued a decree banning cash exports of foreign currency from the country exceeding $10,000 in value with effect from March 2, according to a Kremlin statement.

Also on Tuesday, Echo Moskvy, one of Russia’s oldest radio stations that is critical of the authorities, was taken off the airwaves. The Associated Press confirmed that the blockage, along with threats to shutter the renowned station permanently, is a result of its coverage of the invasion.

Ukraine’s parliament said a Russian missile hit the television tower in Kyiv. Local media reported the attack caused several explosions and Ukrainian channels stopped broadcasting shortly thereafter.

Ukrainian officials said five people were killed in the attack. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted that it rekindles memories of the mass killing of Jews by Nazi SS troops and local collaborators during World War II.

“Kyiv TV tower, which has just been hit by a Russian missile, is situated on the territory of Babyn Yar. On September 29-30, 1941, Nazis killed over 33 thousand Jews here. 80 years later, Russian Nazis strike this same land to exterminate Ukrainians. Evil and barbaric.”

The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that more than 677,000 people, most of them women and children, had fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since Thursday. It said it expects 4 million people could eventually flee Ukraine.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.
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The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces has ignited responses from arts and cultural institutions around the world, which are canceling performances by Russian artists, many of whom are supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

The Cannes Film Festival, an invitation-only event that previews top-quality films from more than 80 countries, announced that no Russian delegations will be welcome this year, following the continued conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The festival is set to begin in May. 

“Unless the war of assault ends in conditions that will satisfy the Ukrainian people, it has been decided that we will not welcome official Russian delegations nor accept the presence of anyone linked to the Russian government,” festival organizers said in a statement released Tuesday. 

The festival may allow individual Russian filmmakers but has not stated whether their films will be permitted to compete. 

The European Broadcasting Union, producers of Eurovision, declared that Russia will no longer be allowed to enter acts for the popular Eurovision Song Contest. The decision came after recent recommendations by the contest’s governing body, the Reference Group, which underscored the values of the broadcasting union.   

Broadcasters from Iceland, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands had requested that Russia be barred from the contest.  

Valery Gergiev, chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and a Putin ally, was dismissed after refusing to condemn the Russian president’s actions in Ukraine.  

The internationally renowned conductor has had many of his concerts canceled and has been dropped by his management company. 

The Edinburgh International Festival, where Gergiev served as an honorary president, requested his resignation, saying, “Edinburgh is twinned with the city of Kyiv, and this action is being taken in sympathy with, and support of, its citizens.”  

Some artists oppose the global trend of cultural sanctions against Russia. 

French artist Ségolène Haehnsen Kan maintains a solo exhibition of her paintings in Moscow at the Surface Lab Art Gallery.  

“Art shouldn’t be prevented by war,” she told Artnet News. “It’s important for Ukrainian artists to know that artists in Russia support them.” 

 
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Western nations are paying Russia hundreds of millions of dollars every day for gas and oil imports, despite sanctions imposed on the country’s banking and aviation sectors following its invasion of Ukraine. With around 40 percent of Europe’s energy needs imported from Russia, leaders are scrambling to find alternatives, as Henry Ridgwell reports from Berlin.

Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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