Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyappeared at Sunday night’sGrammy Awards— but it was silence, not music, on which he wanted the world to focus.
“The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children drawing swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 people have been injured and 153 children died, and we’ll never see them drawing,” he said, in a somber remote address during the Las Vegas ceremony.
“Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning in bomb shelters, but alive,” he said, in remarks that werereportedly pre-taped. “Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again.”
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The wartime leader, a popular actor and comedian-turned-politician, has become internationally known since Russiainvaded his country on Feb. 24. Zelenskyy, 44, has continued to make defiant addresses to his fellow Ukrainians from the capital of Kyiv, where he has to refused to flee; and he has met often with other leaders, appealing for aid and support against Russian forces.
The Grammyshad announced last weekthat they were partnering with Global Citizen and its"Stand Up For Ukraine" fundraising campaignto include a segment for Ukraine in this year’s telecast, which included Zelenskyy’s appearance.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the 2022 Grammy Awards.CBS
The segment was intended to “raise awareness about the situation in Ukraine and will feature opportunities for viewers to take action and contribute to the global ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign,” the Recording Academy said in a Saturday press release.
“One thing that has always made music so powerful is the way it responds to the times. Even in the darkest times, music has the power to lift spirits and give you hope for a brighter tomorrow,” Noah said, “and there’s nobody that could use a little hope right now more than the people of Ukraine.”
In his speech to the audience and viewers, Zelenskyy spoke gravely of the violence inflicted on Ukraine’s besieged cities, where its forces are in a grinding battle for control against Russia.
And he invoked the mounting casualties and flight of millions of refugees along with artistically inclined metaphors.
“The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence. Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos; they sing to the wounded in hospitals — even to those who can’t hear them,” he said. “But the music will break through anyway. We defend our freedom. To live. To love. To sound. On our land, we are fighting Russia which brings horrible silence with its bombs, the dead silence.”
Rich Fury/Getty
After Zelenskyy spoke,John Legendsang “Free” alongside Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine is the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
Russian PresidentVladimir Putininsists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and that he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy, however, has vowed not to bend.
source: people.com
