Yungblud cancels Russian shows over war in Ukraine
He said the invasion doesn't "reflect the attitudes and ideals of the beautiful people who I have met in Russia in the past"
Yungblud has become the latest artist to cancel forthcoming shows in Russia due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine in the early hours of last Thursday (February 24), with Russian President Vladimir Putin announcing the assault in a pre-recorded address, with air strikes reported on military facilities close to cities across Ukraine, including the capital of Kyiv, and with Russian military vehicles breaching the border in a number of locations.
Ukraine has described it as a “full-scale invasion”, per the BBC, and has instituted martial law and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.
Since then, a number of artists, including Green Day, have cancelled shows scheduled in Russia in 2022.
In a statement announcing that his own summer gigs in the country would be cancelled, Yungblud wrote: “I’m heartbroken to announce I will be cancelling my Russian shows scheduled for this summer.
“Heartbroken because I know the vicious and brutal acts of the Russian regime in Ukraine over the past week do not reflect the attitudes and ideals of the beautiful people who I have met in Russia in the past.”
To the people of Ukraine, he added: “A country I’ve spent time in and have dear friends in. My heart is with you – you’ve already shown such strength and determination, resisting this needless invasion.
“Everyone deserves to be the creator of their own destiny, rather than having it forced upon them by acts of war and aggression. Ukraine, I promise I’ll come back as soon as I can. My heart is with you, always.”
“im so devastated to see what’s happening in the Ukraine right now. my prayers are with you,” Yungblud wrote on Twitter last week when the war began, joining Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Bring Me the Horizon‘s Oli Sykes, Miley Cyrus and more in sending their love to Ukraine and slamming Russia’s actions.
Elsewhere, Yungblud recently brought a newly-engaged couple onstage at one of his US shows after the audience pointed out that the proposal happened while he was performing ‘Love Song’.
The musician invited the couple to join him for the remainder of the song after he paused it to celebrate the proposal, which was filmed by a gig-goer stood close to the couple.
Meanwhile, Yungblud also revealed to Apple Music that his third album features “the most personal music I’ve ever written”.
“I’ve been in London. I’ve been making kind of the third record, and I’m just so excited about it,” he said. “This is, for me, the most personal music I’ve ever written. And I think people are going to be a bit shocked about that because all my other music is pretty personal.”