Ukraine Condemns Russia’s Planned Return to Venice Biennale, Calls It ‘Unacceptable’ Amid Ongoing War

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Tetyana Berezhna on Sunday issued a joint statement calling Russia’s planned participation in the Venice Biennale “inadmissible” while Moscow continues its full-scale war against Ukraine.

“The Venice Biennale is one of the world’s most authoritative art platforms, and it must not become a stage for whitewashing the war crimes that Russia commits daily against the Ukrainian people and our cultural heritage,” the statement said.

Their remarks come after organizers of the 61st Venice Biennale published a list of participating countries confirming that Russia intends to reopen its national pavilion. The exhibition is scheduled to run from May 9 to Nov. 22, 2026 – marking Russia’s first official participation since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia has been a regular participant in the Biennale since 1914, when its pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale was built by architect Alexey Shchusev with funding from Ukrainian patron Bohdan Khanenko. Russia’s presence effectively halted after the start of the full-scale war.

Biennale organizers say the exhibition positions itself as an open platform for cultural exchange where countries may participate through permanent national pavilions or official state applications.

“The Venice Biennale rejects any form of exclusion or censorship of culture and art,” organizers state on the event’s website, describing the festival as a space for dialogue and artistic freedom.

Earlier, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for international cultural cooperation and former culture minister, confirmed that Russia intends to reopen its pavilion in May.

“I would like to note that Russia never left the Venice Biennale,” Shvydkoy said, adding that the pavilion’s presence means Russia remains part of Venice’s cultural space.

According to him, the Russian exhibition will be titled “The Tree Is Rooted in the Sky,” built around the idea that “politics exists in temporary dimensions, while cultures communicate in eternity.”

The announcement has triggered strong criticism in Ukraine, where cultural figures argue that the notion of art existing outside politics is impossible during wartime.

Art historian Olha Balashova, head of the NGO Museum of Contemporary Art, said Russia’s attempt to return was largely predictable.

“The Biennale team showed remarkable support for the Ukrainian pavilion over these years, but they never openly opposed Russia’s presence,” Balashova said. 

Artist and art historian Olha Petrova also criticized the conceptual framing of the Russian project.

“Art has never existed outside politics – not even in the times of the pharaohs,” Petrova said. “In a moment when Russia destroys Ukrainian cities, kills civilians and loots museums, talk about cultural equality at festivals sounds detached from reality.”

She called Russia’s participation in a global cultural event while the war continues “the highest level of cynicism.”

In their joint statement, Sybiha and Berezhna stressed that Russia has systematically targeted Ukraine’s cultural heritage. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 346 artists and 132 Ukrainian and foreign media workers have been killed, while more than 1,700 cultural heritage sites and over 2,500 cultural infrastructure facilities have been damaged or destroyed.

Ukrainian officials argue that Russia has long used culture as a tool of political influence and propaganda – a policy that continues today in the occupied territories, where Ukrainian language, books and cultural institutions are being systematically suppressed.

Against this backdrop, Kyiv insists that allowing Russia to participate in major international cultural events risks normalizing aggression.

“Adherence to the values of freedom, human dignity and international law must remain decisive for the global artistic community, as must solidarity with the Ukrainian people whose culture is being targeted for destruction” the joint statement said, calling on the Biennale organizers to reconsider Russia’s participation and maintain the principled stance taken after the invasion in 2022.

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