A two-day meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly began in Vienna on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine amid harsh criticism of Moscow's war and a boycott by the Ukrainian delegation.

Austria granted visas to several Russian delegates to attend the meeting, despite calls from dozens of countries to keep them out of the OSCE. Vienna's decision drew widespread criticism, including from senior U.S. lawmakers.

Ukraine and Lithuania are boycotting a meeting of the 57-nation pan-European security body. The meeting began a day before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to the bloodiest and most destructive conflict in Europe since World War II.

This was the first time Russian State Duma deputies had come to the EU in an official capacity since sanctions were imposed against them for supporting the war and, in particular, for supporting the annexation of four Ukrainian regions: the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporozhye regions.