The Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot and Femen, founded in Ukraine, have staged a striking joint protest at this year's Venice Biennale, as Russia returns to the prestigious arts fair for the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The activists swarmed through the gardens of the Biennale – often described as the 'Olympics' of the arts – to yell their protest outside the Russian national pavilion, dressed all in black but for their fluorescent pink balaclavas.

As security guards rushed to close the glass doors, the protesters set off smoke flares and punched the air with screams of "Russia kills! Biennale exhibits!".

One poster declared: "Curated by Putin, dead bodies included."

"They're drinking vodka and champagne in their pavilion, soaked in the blood of Ukrainian children," Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova told me, arguing that Russia's push to be back at the high-profile event was part of its hybrid warfare.

"It's not just tanks and drones, murder and rape in Ukraine. It's also culture, art, language…it's the way [Russia] tries to conquer the West and you guys just opened the doors to them."

There has been concern over Russia's reinstatement ever since it was announced by Moscow earlier this year.

The European Commission has "strongly condemned" the move and threatened to pull €2 million in funding for the Biennale. It argues that "Allowing the aggressor, Russia, to shine" on such a platform is against ethical standards linked to the grant.

Italy's own culture minister will not attend when the fair opens to the public on Saturday.

But deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini – who famously visited Red Square in 2014 in a Putin T-shirt – refuses to join the boycott, arguing that "No pavilion should be excluded."

One source in Brussels suggested the Commission was not impressed by Italy's response.

The disquiet over the 61st Biennale goes beyond the return of Russia.

Last week, the entire international jury resigned after a statement that referred to countries with leaders wanted by the ICC for suspected war crimes. It meant Russia and Israel.

On Wednesday morning a separate group of protesters descended on the Israeli exhibit, leaving the floor outside carpeted with rain-sodden leaflets denouncing a "Genocide Pavilion".

Israel's foreign ministry has previously criticised a "political jury" for making the Biennale a place of "anti-Israeli political indoctrination".

As the fuss has grown, the event's president has resisted requests for interviews. A right-wing former journalist, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, has spoken admiringly in the past of Vladimir Putin.

Today, he broke his near silence on the Biennale to accuse critics of creating a "laboratory of intolerance" and condemn what he styled as censorship and exclusion in calls for Russia and Israel to be banned.

"If the Biennale began to select not works but affiliations, not visions but passports, it would cease to be what it has always been: the place where the world meets," Buttafuoco announced, then left the press conference before anyone could ask questions.

His argument ignores the point made by posters pasted all over Venice this week. They advertise imaginary events at an "Invisible Pavilion" featuring Ukrainian artists and authors like Volodymyr Vakulenko, who was shot when Russian troops occupied his village.

The posters are stamped: "Cancelled. Because the author was killed by Russia."

The canal-side gardens of the Biennale are home to dozens of stylish national pavilions that operate as showcases for their owners. For all countries, but especially for autocracies like Russia, the bi-annual exhibition is a prime chance to exert some soft power.

In 2022, the curators at the Russian pavilion pulled out in protest at the invasion of Ukraine. Two years later, the building was loaned to Bolivia. But this time a Russian team has filled the space with an upside-down tree and experimental sound performances.

"This is our house, we come to our place," the pavilion's official commissioner Anastasia Karneeva replied, when I asked whether Russia had any place at the Biennale as it invaded Ukraine.

"I don't think about the protests. I am very busy," she dismissed my questions.

Karneeva's father is deputy head of Rostec, Russia's giant state weapons producer, and under sanctions but she didn't want to discuss that either.

"Can we stop this conversation? Thank you."

Russia's return to the Biennale is only partial: after the pre-opening events this week the pavilion will close. It's unclear whether that's down to the protests or the impact of sanctions.

But the performances are being recorded to be screened outside for the public.

That means the sound will drift a few metres down the path towards Ukraine's own contribution to the Biennale.

Right beside the main entrance, a sculpture of an origami deer cast in concrete hangs suspended on thick straps from a crane.

The work of Ukrainian artist Zhanna Kadyrova, the deer was first installed in Pokrovsk in the eastern Donbas when the front line with Russian forces was almost 40 kilometres away.

By 2024, Kadyrova had to evacuate her work to save it from occupation.

"We have a destroyed city that does not exist now. I hope this message is clear and people who visit Biennale can understand it," the artist told me in a recent interview in her studio in Kyiv.

Her deer has become a powerful symbol of displacement, too, sharing the fate of millions of Ukrainians.

"Pokrovsk [is] now an occupied city. A lot of people were killed there. But we saved this artefact. The question is how many artefacts were not saved in this war? How many other kinds of heritage were destroyed?" Kadyrova asks.

"This was a lively city. And it does not exist now because Russia came."

Additional reporting by Davide Ghiglione.

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Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is pushing to revise the country's pacifist constitution. The BBC's Tokyo correspondent Kurumi Mori explains why the country is shifting away from it's anti-war stance, and why there are increasing protests in response.

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Saka the hero as Arsenal reach first Champions League final in 20 years

"There are moments in the Champions League when somebody has to deliver a magic moment – and he delivered that again," Mikel Arteta said after Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid to reach their first major European final in 20 years.

You might be forgiven for thinking the Arsenal manager was referring to Bukayo Saka, whose all-important goal secured their semi-final triumph on Tuesday.

But that "magic moment" on a famous night in north London came from centre-back Gabriel as Atletico were probing for a response to Saka's opener.

William Saliba's poor defensive header had gifted Giuliano Simeone a chance to level as he surged past goalkeeper David Raya with the goal at his mercy.

But an alert Gabriel put in a last-ditch effort, applying just enough pressure to distract Simeone as he got his shot away and save Saliba's blushes.

Arsenal's defensive resoluteness been often criticised, with them being labelled as dull and over-pragmatic, but it has been fundamental throughout their unbeaten run to the final.

However, their biggest test yet will come on 30 May in Budapest against Paris St-Germain, who reached the final with a 6-5 aggregate win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Champions League MOTD analyst Nedum Onuoha, said: "I was so impressed with PSG. Their work-rate was incredible.

"As much as we can be led by the statistics in talking about how PSG have got an incredible attack, you don't get this far in this competition without having something in defence as well.

"While we can see how special their attack is, they have worked very hard to get here as a unit and I think as the season has progressed, they have got better and better."

Late Bayern pressure not enough as PSG return to Champions League final

Someone who knows all about winning the Champions League is Clarence Seedorf.

The only player to lift the trophy with three different clubs, the former midfielder believes Arsenal's defence could be the difference against free-scoring PSG.

"We have seen a team like Arsenal making the difference this year with so many clean sheets and coming all the way," Seedorf recently told Amazon Prime.

"If I had to point out one team that would be capable of bringing it home because of that capacity, it is actually Arsenal. Tell me one sport you can win without a proper defence. I don't think it exists."

Tuesday's 1-0 win was Arsenal's ninth clean sheet in 14 matches in Europe – they have only conceded two goals in six knockout games – and their 30th overall this season.

They have allowed their opponents an expected goals (xG) of just 0.84 per game, and seven of the past 13 Champions League winners conceded fewer than 1.0 xG per game on average during their successful campaigns. In comparison, PSG's average xGA – expected goals against – in Europe this season is 1.38.

Arsenal have had an easier path to the final, beating Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting and Atletico, while PSG have overcome Monaco, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern to reach the showpiece.

But you can only beat teams in front of you – and Arsenal did so impressively to top the 32-club league phase with eight wins from as many matches, including statement victories over Bayern, Atletico and last season's finalists Inter Milan.

The 14-game unbeaten run they are on is their longest in the competition, overtaking a 13-match streak between March 2005 and April 2006, when under Arsene Wenger they reached the final only to lose to Barcelona.

But it is the newfound defensive maturity that separates the current crop from Arsenal teams of the past.

Onuoha said: "There are definitely reasons for Arsenal to be confident about the final, 100%.

"They know the style PSG have and that if you allow them to overwhelm you, you can really struggle. But Arsenal will have a plan. Obviously they have got the domestic season to figure out as well, but they will definitely have a plan for the Champions League final and they will know they can cause PSG problems as well as keep them out."

"Arsenal have a chance without question – with that defence they have and the goalkeeper, they're brilliant," former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

Former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard added: "I know more than anyone else that an underdog can win this final – when we won with Liverpool against AC Milan it was a mismatch.

"Arsenal will play against a high-quality team, against an elite manager. Every player will have to be on the top of their game. They have to use their physicality, size and take PSG where they don't want go – but they certainly have a chance."

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There is no denying it will take a monumental Arsenal effort against PSG if they are to lift the Champions League trophy for the first time.

Reigning champions PSG have netted 44 goals in just 16 matches in Europe – with six of them coming in the semi-final against Bayern, who themselves scored 43.

Only Barcelona, who scored 45 times in 16 matches in 1999-00, have more in a single season.

One only has to look at last season's final to appreciate how quickly Luis Enrique's PSG side can blow teams away. Inter Milan conceded just once in their eight league-phase matches, but shipped five in one of the most one-sided European finals.

The Gunners defeated PSG 2-0 at Emirates Stadium in the league phase of last season's competition, but the French side prevailed in the semi-finals, running out 3-1 aggregate winners on their way to clinching their maiden title.

Arsenal will now hope to avenge that heartbreak in perfect fashion in Hungary at Puskas Arena.

"The final will be fascinating," Hargreaves said. "PSG will be more attacking than they were against Bayern, but this is a different Arsenal now.

"They went through a little blip the last few weeks. They believe now. They have a chance. They just have to believe."

How aggressive attack & defence fuelled Arsenal's UCL run

"It's interesting the way people have viewed Arsenal in recent weeks – people think the wheels were coming off," former Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"But they are a very capable team. Arsenal have a real chance – it can be 50/50 game. Arsenal are capable on their day."

Arteta's side are not shy in front of goal, either. They have 67 goals in 35 Premier League matches – with only Manchester City bettering their record in the English top flight with 69 in 34 games.

Of course, having the best defence is not a guarantee of success in the Champions League.

According to Opta, only Bayern Munich – in 2019-20 with a per-game xGA of 0.62 – and Manchester City – in 2022-23 with a per-game xGA of 0.81 – have won the competition while boasting the season's best xGA record since 2013-14.

But what it offers Arsenal and Arteta is a solid platform to build on, against what will be a formidable challenge in the Hungarian capital.

Nicholas, Belfast: Am I the only Arsenal fan who thinks we can beat PSG? Watching the game in my retro jersey, booking flights to Budapest.

Jaime, Birmingham: Who says a goalfest is better then good defending? I think Arsenal can win the Champions League just by defending.

Joseph, Southampton: Arsenal have a better defensive record than PSG. Arsenal can defend, the problem is scoring goals.

Ki, London: Arsenal aren't winning. From the start, I said PSG to win. They surely are favourites.

Tim, Chesham: Arsenal can only beat what's in front of them but I can't think of an easier sequence of knockout matches to reach the final.

Josh, France: People as always are very quick to discredit Arsenal. They are in the final for a reason, semis last year, quarters the year before – this isn't some fluke.

Ar

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