This was reported to Ukrinform by the Federal Ministry of European Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria on February 21.

"Austria supports the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and condemns the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Austria fully supports the EU's relevant non-recognition policy, including the sanctions regime, and is conscientious about its implementation", - the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the situation.

However, the ministry added that the actions of private companies are not state activities, and therefore cannot represent "violations" of the policy of non-recognition.

What is known

• Austria has not sued architects for a project in occupied Crimea due to a lack of suspicion of committing a crime.
• Ambassador of Ukraine to Austria Oleksandr Shcherbak addressed the head of the architectural bureau Wolf Prix with a request not to ruin his reputation and to change his mind about participating in the opera's construction, but he refused. The Ukrainian government is already considering imposing sanctions on architects.
• At the end of 2020, the head of Coop Himmelblau, Wolf Prix, confirmed in a comment to the Austrian news agency APA that his office was involved in the construction of an opera house in occupied Sevastopol and the construction of a museum-theatre in Kemerovo, Russia.In 2018, Putin initiated the construction of four cultural and educational complexes in Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Kemerovo and Sevastopol.