Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be invited to a event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The French organisers of the event confirmed the Russian President is barred from entering the event as a result of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The commemorations in June mark the day when more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany. Millions of Soviet soldiers died in the war.
Putin has rarely left Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, in part because of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest that Moscow says it does not recognise.
Putin will not be allowed to attend the event in France
Getty
The event in Normandy is organised by The Liberation Mission, who spoke out against the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
A spokesperson said: "For more than two years now, the Russian Federation has been waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, which France condemns in the strongest possible terms.
"Given these circumstances, President Putin will not be invited to take part in the Normandy landings commemoration.
"Russia will nevertheless be invited to be represented, given the importance of its role and the sacrifice of the Soviet people, so that their contribution to the victory in 1945 can be honoured."
LATEST FROM THE UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR
Vladimir Putin continues to face global backlash to his war in Ukraine
REUTERSIt comes as the Kremlin has refused to confirm or deny if Moscow had been forewarned of Iran's strikes against Israel, but urged all sides in the Middle East to step back from conflict.
President Vladimir Putin urged all sides to refrain from action that would trigger a new confrontation which he warned would be fraught with catastrophic consequences for the region.
Speaking earlier today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We don't even want to talk about the escalation of this conflict. This is against the interests of Israel, Iran, and the entire region...The Russian Federation continues close, constructive working contacts with Iran.
"We also have constructive contacts with Israel... We are conducting a dialogue, talking about the need for de-escalation. We call on all countries in the region to exercise reasonable restraint."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Reuters
Earlier today, three Russian missiles slammed into the city centre of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, wounding dozens more and damaging civilian buildings.
President Volodmir Zelensky called on Kyiv's allies to rush in air defence support after the city, which had a pre-war population of 300,000..
He wrote on the Telegram messaging app: "This would not have happened if Ukraine had received sufficient air defence equipment and if the world's determination to counter Russian terror had been sufficient"
