The Kremlin says it will not pass Russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Cannes plea to Putin to stop the “slaughter” in Ukraine.
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Monday it will not pass Russian film director Andrei Zvyagitsev’s message to President Vladimir Putin — made during a speech at the Cannes Film Festival — to “end the slaughter” in Ukraine.
As he accepted the Grand Prix award for his film “Minotaur” at the weekend, Zvyagintsev addressed Putin, saying he was the “only person” that could end the war, denouncing the Kremlin’s full-scale offensive against Ukraine.
Asked if the speech was relayed to the Russian leader, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “I for one, will not do it. I do not think that anyone else will do it.”
Peskov said Zvyagintsev did “not have the right” to make such statements, as he has not criticised Kyiv.
During his speech, Zvyagintsev said he knew Putin would not be watching but believed “there are people in his entourage that know how to pass on these words to him”.
“Millions of people from both sides of the contact line are dreaming just of one thing: for the massacres to stop,” he told Putin.
“You are the only person that can stop this meat grinder, Mr President of Russia. Stop this slaughter already.”
Zvyagintsev’s film depicts a provincial Russian businessman forced to choose which employees to send to fight in Ukraine as his marriage falls apart, describing life in wartime Russia.
The Kremlin last week said it was too early to say whether “Minotaur” will be given permission for screening in Russia, which has introduced massive censorship after sending troops to Ukraine in 2022.
But Zvyagintsev has said he believes many Russians will find a way to watch “Minotaur”, thanks to film piracy and VPNs.
