Woody Allen said that while he believed the war in Ukraine was “appalling”, his participation in a Russian film festival was not insulting to the victims of the raging conflict. He was responding after the Ukrainian foreign ministry condemned his appearance as a “disgrace”.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Woody Allen for speaking virtually at a Russian film festival over the weekend, calling his participation in the event “a disgrace and an insult” to the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"Allen chooses to turn a blind eye to the atrocities Russia commits in Ukraine every single day," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said