Today In Rock: February 24th, 2022- Rock Musicians Speak Out Against Ukraine Invasion
On this day… David Draiman (Disturbed), David Coverdale (Whitesnake), Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman (The Offspring), and Michael Sweet (Stryper) were among the musicians around the world who condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Why do I hate Russian president Vladimir Putin,” Draiman (pictured) asked rhetorically. “Because he’s an anti-LGBTQ+, war-mongering/fear-mongering, communist dictator, who always seizes any opportunity to further enrich and empower himself.”
Here are just some of the actions taken by Rock musicians to provide relief to the war’s victims…
Jinger: The Ukrainian Metal band canceled U.S. tour plans to focus on helping their homeland. The group created charity T-shirts that raised more than $140,000 with all proceeds going to local groups throughout Ukraine.
Pussy Riot: The Moscow-based feminist collective and long-time Putin critics teamed with several cryptocurrency companies and Ukrainian humanitarian activists to launch an NFT campaign aimed at aiding Ukraine.
Chrissie Hynde/Franz Ferdinand: A special concert is held at London’s Roadhouse nightclub with Bob Geldof (Band Aid/Live Aid), The Pretenders’ Chrisie Hynde and the band Franz Ferdinand among the performers, All proceeds benefit U.K. charity Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), providing aid to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
Arcade Fire: The Indie-Rock outfit raised more than $100,000 for PLUS1’s Ukraine Relief Fund with a series of surprise shows – one in New Orleans, four in New York.
Queen+Paul Rodgers: In 2008, the band played to more than 350,000 people in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The footage was repurposed for a YouTube special screening aimed at drawing donations for UNHCR’s relief efforts.” “Queen + Paul Rodgers Live in Ukraine” streamed afterward and helped raise more than $5 million in funds for the UN Refugee Agency.
Putin’s invasion followed years of tension between Russia and Ukraine as the latter moved toward closer ties with the West, which Putin viewed as a threat. In the fall of ’21 he amassed troops and military equipment along Russia’s border with Ukraine and made various demands including de facto veto power over NATO expansion. All of which were rejected.
Putin then ordered Russian troops into Ukrainian territory as “peacekeepers,” before launching a full-scale invasion that he called a “special military operation.”
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