KYIV, Ukraine, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's foreign ministry on
Wednesday called out US TV network HBO for casting a Serbian actor it says
backs Russia's invasion in the next season of hit show The White Lotus.

Milos Bikovic was given Russian citizenship in 2021 and was personally
honoured by President Vladimir Putin for his contribution to Russian arts and
culture.

HBO announced earlier this month that Bikovic will star in the third season
of The White Lotus, triggering an immediate backlash from Ukrainian social
media users.

"Milos Bikovic, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start
of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO's The White Lotus
Season 3," the foreign ministry said in a post on X, formerly known as
Twitter.

"@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide &
violates international law?," it added.

There was no immediate response from HBO.

Bikovic, 36, has starred in a number of Russian productions and spoken
regularly about his admiration of Russian culture.

In 2019, he said he had been banned from entering Ukraine for national
security reasons.

Kyiv has said he filmed shows in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Russia
annexed in 2014, and that he has backed Russia's ongoing invasion of the
country.

Putin awarded Bikovic the Pushkin Medal, one of Russia's top cultural prizes,
for advancing Russian culture at a ceremony in the Kremlin in 2018.

He was also awarded Russian citizenship by presidential decree in 2021.

"It is a great honour to say today: Russia is my homeland," he wrote at the
time on Instagram, adding that he was "an active member of Russian society".

Filming of the third season of Emmy-winner The White Lotus will begin in
February in Thailand, with the show set to air in 2025, Variety reported.