Russia-backed separatists stand at the site of the crashed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, July 16, 2015. The fighters said they have arrived to protect the media and make sure the MH17 crash site is clear of ammunition and mines. A year since a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky over war-ravaged eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people, there has been little official word of progress in determining what brought down Flight MH17. (Photo by Antoine E. R. Delaunay/AP Photo)

A pro-Russian supporter with the Russian national flag on her shoulders takes part in a meeting in Simferopol, March 6, 2014. Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Triplet sisters Natalia, Irina and Tatiana Mironenko attend a rehearsal while preparing for examination performances staged by the graduates of the folk dance faculty of the Krasnoyarsk choreographic college in Krasnoyarsk, Russia May 13, 2019. All three 19-year-old sisters are expected to join the renowned Krasnoyarsk state academic dance ensemble of Siberia after the graduation. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

A man grimaces walking by the “Lettuce Ladies”, a group of PETA activists, during an event promoting a vegan lifestyle, downtown Bucharest, Romania, Monday, August 14, 2017. Two PETA vegan ambassadors distributed vegan food to passers by in the Romanian capital, the latest stop in a tour including the United States, Russia and Turkey aimed at promoting a vegan lifestyle. The sign reads in Romanian “start fresh: become vegan”. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

Nikolai Vasilyev, 64, dressed as Father Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus, water-skis along the Yenisei River outside the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia December 19, 2017. Vasilyev, former teacher of the Siberian State Aerospace University, constructed the water skis out of plastic foam and designed the sticks to propel him forward, while travelling on the water surface. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

Ukrainian servicemen of the State Border Guard Service wait for an order to move to the mortar position at the entrance of the shelter in Bakhmut on February 16, 2023, as the head of Russia's mercenary outfit Wagner said it could take months to capture the embattled Ukraine city and slammed Moscow's “monstrous bureaucracy” for slowing military gains. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

A woman looks at model of the Cathedral Mosque in Kazan, during the 28th International Exhibition – Forum of Architecture and Design “Arch Moscow” in Moscow, Russia, 24 May 2023. Arch Moscow is one of the oldest architectural and construction exhibitions in Moscow. The 28th International Exhibition – Forum of Architecture and Design takes place from 24 May to 27 May 2023. (Photo by Yuri Kochetkov/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Local resident Rita holds a cat while her neighbour Raisa saws firewood next to their residential building heavily damaged by permanent Russian military strikes in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine on November 8, 2023. (Photo by Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Reuters)