Film star Woody Allen has been added to the list of Ukraine’s enemies maintained by the notorious state-linked Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) website for participating in a Russian cinema event.
The 89-year-old actor and director appeared via videolink on Sunday at Moscow International Film Week, where he spoke about his career and long-standing ties to Russia.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has denounced his participation, calling it “a disgrace and an insult to the sacrifice of Ukrainian actors and filmmakers,” while the Lviv National Academic Theatre canceled upcoming performances of Allen’s stage musical Bullets Over Broadway in protest.
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The controversial database added Allen’s profile on Monday, branding the Hollywood legend a “victim of psychological violence by Russian-terrorist propaganda” and accusing him of “conscious participation in a Russian propaganda event.”
The site, which is nominally independent but closely linked to Ukrainian state security services, publishes the personal details of individuals it claims are “enemies” of Ukraine. It has been branded a “kill list” after multiple people whose names appeared on it were later murdered or died under suspicious circumstances.
Allen defended the artistic exchange, telling the Guardian that “when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, I believe strongly that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is totally in the wrong.”
But, whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.
Mirotvorets has targeted a wide range of international figures in the past. Earlier this year, Hollywood actor Mark Eydelshteyn and Russian hockey star Alexander Ovechkin were added to the database. The list has also included prominent Americans such as US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and journalist Tucker Carlson.
Russian officials have condemned the site as extremist, while its operators insist it is a legitimate tool for defending national security.
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