A meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's parliamentary assembly got underway Thursday without the Ukrainian delegation, which described the planned presence of Russian lawmakers as “an affront.”
The two-day meeting of the normally low-profile assembly, which coincides with the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has been overshadowed by controversy over the Russians' attendance. Austria granted them visas even though they are under European Union sanctions and despite protests from 20 countries including Britain, France and Canada.
