‘This illusion is one our parents believe in’: Rapper Oxxxymiron urges fellow Russians to rethink Ukraine conflict

Musician cancelled six sold-out shows in Moscow and St Petersburg in protest of the invasion

Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has issued a passionate appeal to Russians who support the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The musician held a live-streamed concert in Istanbul on Tuesday night (15 March) to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.

Oxxxymiron – real name Miron Yanovich Fyodorov – paused the concert to deliver an impassioned speech directed at Russian people who support the war in Ukraine.

Journalist Jonny Tickle shared a clip of the speech on Twitter alongside an English-language translation.

“It seems to me – rather, I’m sure – that the people who are for this war are in fact against this war. They just believe that this is really a special operation to bomb military facilities. In fact, this special peacekeeping operation does not exist. It is a war,” said Oxxxymiron.

“Unfortunately, this illusion is one that our parents believe in,” he continued, adding that “it it very important to talk to them because they’re probably not bloodthirsty people but they watch too much television”.

The rapper went on to say that he “really wants to appeal to those who don’t agree with me”, stating: “I want to ask you to consider the possibility of alternative viewpoints in your brain.

“You don’t have to immediately agree with me and agree with us, but you can’t just go along with everything you’re told.”

The 37-year-old continued to say that “the videos and the photos that I receive every day are not fakes”, adding that “they aren’t coming from Ukrainian officials. They’re from my friends who are there right now, who send me photos and stories that are totally f***ed up”.

He concluded: “So I beg you very much, I beg you, I do not order you, I beg you, to investigate the alternative to the opinions you have already formed.”

In February, Oxxxymiron cancelled six of his sold-out concerts in Moscow and St Petersburg in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I can’t perform while Russian missiles fall on Ukraine,” he said in a video posted to Instagram. “[I am] postponing six of my major gigs in Moscow and St Petersburg indefinitely.”

On Wednesday (16 March), Ukrainian officials said a theatre in the port city of Mariupol, where dozens of civilians were sheltering, has been bombed by Russia.

Sergei Orlov, Mariupol’s deputy mayor, told BBC that people had been taking cover in the city’s drama theatre since the war began.

He estimated that between 1,000 and 1,200 people were residing in the theatre when it was bombed. Orlov said, however, that the number of casualties was not yet known.

You can follow live updates on The Independent’s live-blog of the Russia-Ukraine crisis here.

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