Ukrainian artists on the Russian crisis: “Now is the time to push for change”

nme.com:

NME about the ongoing conflict with Russia, and what the rest of the world can do to help.Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and declared martial law, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on Thursday (February 24).In the time since the invasion launched, 198 Ukrainians – including three children – have been killed at the time of writing, according to Health Minister Viktor Liashko.

A further 1,115 people have reportedly been wounded, including 33 children (via Al Jazeera). Russian authorities have not released casualty figures for their forces.Speaking to NME from London, where they have lived for nine years, electro-pop duo Bloom Twins described the situation as “terrifying”.“It has really affected us,” said singer Anna Kuprienko. “We’re talking to our family, we have a lot of friends and our second manager living there.

We go back to the Ukraine quite a lot. We were only there two months ago. We were hopeful that this situation with Russia wouldn’t go where it has and that it would resolve.“I literally spoke to my dad and our manager like six hours before everything happened.

I called them and no one believed this would happen, then we all woke up to this crazy news. Then everyone was in a state of shock and panic and it became impossible to leave.”Hailing Ukraine’s “incredible and unique culture” of “interesting artists and fashion icons”, the duo of twin sisters (who grew up in Brovary, a suburb of Kyiv) explained how their nationality ran through everything they do – and that nothing would ever extinguish the identity of their people.“We are always true to our roots,” Sonia Kuprienko told NME. “We would never forget about our past.