Russian radio station taken off air over Ukraine coverage

EXCLUSIVE: The biggest Ukrainian media organizations have penned an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging sanctions on all Russian TV channels.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K. Premier League soccer tournament has suspended its agreement with its Russian broadcast partner and will donate £1 million ($1.3 million) to support the people of Ukraine.

The Toronto International Film Festival won’t be rolling out the red carpet to organizations, official delegations and media outlets supported by the Russian state.

Just hours after Deadline reported that Netflix is pausing all of its production and acquisitions work in Russia, the company’s co-founder, chairman and co-CEO Reed Hastings announced a $1 million donation to an organization providing emergency relief to Ukraine.

Russian supermodel and actress Irina Shayk is vocalizing her support for Ukraine.

Succession actor Brian Cox claims that Russian actors have been banned from speaking about Ukraine.

Ukraine has drawn swift and wide-ranging condemnation from the international community, which has imposed unprecedented sanctions against President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle and pushed the Russian economy to a breaking point, with the ruble plummeting to historic lows on Monday.Amid calls for a boycott of Russian films that have received government support and a strident response from European media groups, cultural institutions, film festivals and industry confabs, the backlash has rattled Russian filmmakers with long-standing personal and professional ties to the continent’s screen industry.“The need for Europe to make a clear anti-war statement is understandable and necessary. However, banning all Russians from the major cultural events is not only unhelpful — it’s harmful,” said one veteran producer.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAn open letter against the war in Ukraine has been signed by prominent Russian cinematographers, spearheaded by Fedor Lyass (“Hardcore Henry”).The signatories include Roman Vasyanov (“Suicide Squad,” “Fury”), Mikhail Krichman (“Loveless,” “Leviathan”), Pavel Kapinos (“Hardcore Henry”), Vladislav Opelyants (“Leto,” “Petrov’s Flu,” “Persian Lessons”) and Pavel Fomintsev (“Unclenching the Fists”).Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began on Feb. 24, Russian filmmakers and animators have bravely rallied and spoken out against their government’s actions and have called upon the international community for support.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGreen Day have canceled their concert scheduled for May 29 at Spartak Stadium in Moscow over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the band announced on Sunday.“With heavy hearts, in light of current events we feel it is necessary to cancel our upcoming show in Moscow at Spartak Stadium,” the band said in a statement to Variety. “We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it’s much bigger than that.  But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future.