The Russian ambassador to Australia has had his inxjmtzywvitation to deliver a national address withdrawn following reports the nuclear power bombed civilians in Ukraine.
The National Press Club on Friday said its board considered Aleksey Pavlovsky’s invitation inappropriate due to escalating Russian aggression towards its neighbour.
He and the top Ukrainian diplomat Volodymyr Shalkivskyi had both been invited to speak at the press club.
Mr Shalkivskyi gave his address on Thursday, where he called on the Australian government to expel Dr Pavlovsky.
He said he was not in a position to be “diplomatically polite” while his parents were spending their nights in a bomb shelter in Kyiv.
“I’m a diplomat. I have to play along my diplomatic narratives. I do what I can in order to play it,” he said.
“But when you have more than 50 children killed in your country due to the shelling, yes, I’d like Russian ambassador to be expelled.”
