The co-founder of the legendary British rock group Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, during his address to the UN Security Council, said that Russiaʼs invasion of Ukraine was "provoked".
The Guardian writes about it.
Waters was invited to speak by Russia, which initiated a meeting of the Security Council to discuss the issue of supplying weapons to Ukraine. "The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms," Waters said. The musician did not specify who exactly he meant.
In his address, Waters added that he was speaking on behalf of "four billion brothers and sisters" as well as “voiceless majority, who together with the millions in the international anti-war movement represent a huge constituency."
Ahead of his performance, Polly Samson, former Pink Floyd songwriter and wife of the groupʼs guitarist Dave Gilmour denounced Waters as an anti-Semite and Putin apologist.
In September 2022, Waters wrote a letter to the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska. In it, the musician stated that he opposes the West sending weapons to Ukraine. According to him, "extreme nationalists" in Ukraine have put the country "on the path of this disastrous war." He also accused the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, of not fulfilling pre-election promises to establish peace in Donbas and did not mention Russiaʼs responsibility for the war. After such statements, Watersʼ concerts were canceled in Poland.