The organizers of the Venice Biennale have been urged to reconsider their decision to admit Russia to this year's event by a leading Italian politician.
Federico Mollicone, a member of Italy's Chamber of Deputies and chair of its culture committee, said seeing the pavilion "next to the Ukrainian Pavilion in this situation is not a message of peace".
He told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco had made a "mistake" by announcing Russia's inclusion.
Speaking to Italian news agency ANSA, he said: "I hope the Biennale will reconsider the presence of the Russian Pavilion."
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "exploiting sports, music, cinema, and art festivals—like the Venice Biennale" to spread propaganda, while the European Union has threatened to pull $2.29 million of funding from its foundation if Russia takes part.