Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications and Ministry of Foreign Affairs have condemned the presence of the Russian flag at the Venice Film Festival and called for its removal, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.

The ministries reported that while the Russian flag remains displayed at the festival, Russian forces continue committing war crimes. On 28 August, Russia attacked Kyiv, killing 23 people including 4 children.

“While Russia has the freedom to choose how to continue killing civilians in Ukraine, providing it with an international cultural stage is not freedom of art, but hypocrisy, indifference and support for even more terror,” the ministries said in their statement.

The Ukrainian ministries called on the Venice Film Festival to eliminate Russia’s presence and the Russian flag from the event.

The Venice International Film Festival, founded in 1932 as part of the Venice Biennale on the initiative of Italian political figure and fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, is the world’s oldest film festival. The 81st Venice Film Festival featured the world premiere of the documentary “Songs of a Land That Burns Slowly” by Ukrainian director Olga Zhurba.

The 82nd Venice Film Festival runs from 27 August to 9 September. Film critic Sonya Vselyubska from UP.Culture has been accredited for the event and will provide coverage.

The statement emphasized that the festival opened with what it described as “the first tragicomedy of its own authorship.” The ministries noted that under the Russian flag, Russian military forces are currently committing war crimes.

The Ukrainian officials stated that even on the same day, Russia carried out attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing at least 21 people, including 4 children. The statement criticized festival organizers for choosing to ignore these actions and further damaging the festival’s reputation.

“The only thing the Venice Film Festival should do now is get rid of Russia’s presence and the Russian flag,” said in the statement, using the hashtag #NoStageForRussia while Russia conducts war against Ukraine.