--- description: Kyiv says that Serbian actor Miloš Biković, who will star in the HBO series' third season, supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine. title: Why Ukraine Has Condemned a 'White Lotus' Casting Decision image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9f1e0bfc55515dc/698a442cdb2987dc75269c20/Milos-Bikovic-russia.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ukraine](/tag/ukraine/) ## Ukraine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Ukraine Has Condemned a _White Lotus_ Casting Decision ## Video: Russia Reports No Survivors From Plane Crash It Says Had 65 Ukrainian POWs Aboard [Watch (HLS stream): Russia Reports No Survivors From Plane Crash It Says Had 65 Ukrainian POWs Aboard](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KOmTGFvs.m3u8) (0:26)  _Published 2024-01-24. A Russian plane allegedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed on Wednesday near the Russia-Ukraine border, killing everyone on board, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported, citing Russia’s Defense Ministry._  by [Armani Syed](/author/armani-syed/)  ## Armani Syed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Syed was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Jan 25, 2024 3:07 PM CUT  Serbian actor and member of the jury Miloš Biković attends the closing ceremony of the 43rd Moscow International Film Festival at the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow on April 29, 2021. Serbian actor and member of the jury Miloš Biković attends the closing ceremony of the 43rd Moscow International Film Festival at the Rossiya Theatre in Moscow on April 29, 2021.Sefa Karacan—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images  by [Armani Syed](/author/armani-syed/)  ## Armani Syed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Syed was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau. Jan 25, 2024 3:07 PM CUT As fans gear up for the third season of Emmy Award-winning HBO series _The White Lotus_, Ukraine’s foreign ministry has criticized the television network over a casting decision. Earlier this month, 36-year-old Serbian actor Miloš Biković was revealed as [part of the cast](https://twitter.com/StreamOnMax/status/1745850835316175267 "undefined") of Mike White’s hit drama, which will be set in Thailand for its latest installment airing in 2025\. “Miloš Biković, 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,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry [wrote on X](https://twitter.com/MFA%5FUkraine/status/1750209346666160293 "undefined"). “@HBO, is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?” it added. The ministry also [posted an image](https://www.instagram.com/p/C2fL2UBofj-/ "undefined") of Biković on Instagram that accuses him of being a “genocide supporter.” Ukraine had previous banned Biković from entering the country in 2019 due to national security reasons, [AFP reported](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/jan/25/ukraine-hits-out-at-hbo-for-casting-pro-russia-actor-milos-bikovic-in-new-season-of-white-lotus "undefined"). That decision came a yearafter he was awarded the Pushkin medal, one of Russia’s top cultural awards, by President Vladimir Putin. ### More From TIME Biković obtained Russian citizenship in 2021 by presidential decree. “It is a great honour to say today: Russia is my homeland!” [Biković wrote on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/CLrUzwcJHgQ/?hl=en "undefined") at the time. “I have been actively participating in Russian cultural life for more than 7 years. For me it’s a blessing and the source of happiness.” Biković has starred in a number of Serbian and Russian films and TV shows over the past two decades, but _The_ _White Lotus_ will be his first U.S. production. The actor was announced alongside co-stars Christian Friedel, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, and Shalini Peiris. Ukraine has claimed that Biković starred in productions filmed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014\. (Representatives for Biković and Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to TIME’s request for comment.) “The people of Crimea joined Russia themselves through a referendum,” Biković said, according to a video published by United24, a Ukrainian government platform. In a March 2014 referendum, 97% voted in favor of Crimea joining mainland Russia. Many Crimeans boycotted the vote and the U.S. and E.U. condemned it as illegitimate. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/"},"headline":"Why Ukraine Has Condemned a White Lotus Casting Decision","datePublished":"2024-01-25T15:07:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:01:03.340Z","description":"Kyiv says that Serbian actor Miloš Biković, who will star in the HBO series' third season, supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine.","url":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/","keywords":["Ukraine","News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9f1e0bfc55515dc/698a442cdb2987dc75269c20/Milos-Bikovic-russia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Armani Syed","jobTitle":"Syed was a reporter for TIME, based in the London bureau.","url":"https://time.com/author/armani-syed/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte9f1e0bfc55515dc/698a442cdb2987dc75269c20/Milos-Bikovic-russia.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Closing ceremony of 43rd Moscow International Film Festival","caption":"Closing ceremony of 43rd Moscow International Film Festival.","creditText":"Sefa Karacan—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ukraine/","name":"Ukraine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/","name":"Why Ukraine Has Condemned a White Lotus Casting Decision"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Russia Reports No Survivors From Plane Crash It Says Had 65 Ukrainian POWs Aboard","description":"A Russian plane allegedly carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashed on Wednesday near the Russia-Ukraine border, killing everyone on board, Russian state media RIA Novosti reported, citing Russia’s Defense Ministry.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KOmTGFvs/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-01-24T14:48:53.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KOmTGFvs.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/","duration":"PT26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6588442/white-lotus-casting-russia-ukraine/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```