- Title: Russian and Ukrainian rock stars join forces for charity tour
- Date: 10th June 2022
- Summary: GDANSK, POLAND (JUNE 8, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) FRONTMAN OF RUSSIAN PUNK-ROCK BAND PORNOFILMY, VLADIMIR KOTLYAROV, SAYING: "Back in 2014, when Russia essentially started a hybrid war against Ukraine and occupied part of its territory, we were already talking about this and we were trying to break the vacuum created by Russian propaganda, which demonised Ukrainians. Since that point in time, we have also been trying to show that these people are not our enemies - they are people just like you and me."
- Embargoed: 24th June 2022 16:38
- Keywords: Russian invasion of Ukraine Ukraine charity concert live music music
- Location: GDANSK, POLAND
- City: GDANSK, POLAND
- Country: Poland
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Music
- Reuters ID: LVA004404110062022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Russian punk band Pornofilmy and Ukrainian pop-rockers Nervy are performing together on a charity tour entitled "Stand with Ukraine".
They say profits from the concerts, the latest of which took place in the Polish city of Gdansk on Wednesday (June 8), will be donated to organizations helping war-affected Ukrainians and used for the purchase of medical equipment.
The tour, which also features Russian rapper Face, was initiated by Nervy frontman Zhenya Milkovskyi, who was born in Pokrovsk, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, and had been living in Moscow since 2014 after signing with a Russian label.
"As soon as the war started, we immediately felt the urge to do something useful. And I think this is the most helpful thing we can do now," Milkovskyi told Reuters.
Milkovskyi was forced to leave Russia after making a series of posts on his social media networks condemning Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
"I am now banned from entering (Russia) for 50 years. I'm Russia's enemy - don't know what it's really called - simply, an unwelcomed person," he said.
Russia says it launched its "special military operation" to disarm and "denazify" its neighbour. Ukraine and its allies call the invasion an unprovoked war of aggression.
Russian band Pornofilmy have faced official hostility for their anti-war stance. The band's official page on Russian social network Vkontakte was blocked after a ruling by Russia's Prosecutor General's Office on June 2.
Kotliarov said part of the band's motivation for joining the tour to help the victims of the war was the strong connection they had built with Ukrainian audiences.
"It seems to me that it was not us who came to this decision, but this decision has come to us," he said. "It was probably the only right thing to do in this situation."
Russia's state pollster Public Opinion Research Centre says 72% of Russians support the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine.
(Production: Natasa Bansagi, Gosia Wojtunik, Daria Shamonova) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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