Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in a surprise video screened at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night that called for more American support, reminding the stars that his nation’s musicians wear “body armor instead of tuxedos.”
The prerecorded video played prior to musician John Legend’s performance of “Free” alongside Ukrainian musicians Siuzanna Iglidan and Mika Newton, also featuring poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. Images from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were displayed on the screens during the song.
“[T]he war. What is more opposite of music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died, and we will never see them drawing,” Zelensky said in the subtitled video.
“Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning in bomb shelters, but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again. The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence,” he added.
⚡️Ukrainian artists, Zelensky address audience at the Grammys.
President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the audience in a pre-recorded video, wherein he said:“We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music.” pic.twitter.com/DrUzTNqsDO
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 4, 2022
Zelensky then noted the difference between his nation’s musicians and the free world.
“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even to those who can’t hear them. 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. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today. Tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social networks and TV. But not silence,” Zelensky shared.
Academy Awards co-host Amy Schumer first proposed the idea of Zelensky appearing via video on the Oscars in an interview with “The Drew Barrymore Show.” Instead, Zelensky’s speech became a focal point of the Grammy Awards, a strong contrast with the Oscar Awards that were largely remembered for Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock over a joke about Smith’s wife.
In a separate video message on Sunday, Zelensky said during an interview on Sunday that Russian soldiers have killed and tortured children as part of their strategy. The Daily Wire reported:
“Some of them have been occupied, and then they destroyed everything. The civilians, the houses, they were stealing washing machines and equipment,” Zelensky said through a translator. “So, [they] were torturers as well. I think the clips that we shared with you, you have seen for yourself. It’s important for the free people of the United States to have a look at it and see for themselves.”
“Before the war, when there was a lot of free time, we were watching different films, and also war movies, but we couldn’t have imagined anything like this, because this is a maniac type of decision to destroy the whole nation,” he continued, later adding, “We find people with hands tied behind their back and decapitated, such things, I don’t understand, I don’t comprehend, the kids who were killed and tortured.”