Скачать или смотреть Ukraine! by John Dupuy - Official Music Video

Music video directed by: Anna Parapan.

It is the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Of course you could say the invasion began in 2014 when the Russians illegally invaded and stole Crimea from Ukraine. This was after the Budapest Memorandum, in which the US and Russia declared that the current (as of 1994) boundaries of Ukraine were inviolable—if the Ukrainians would give up their nuclear weapons. At that time, Ukraine had more nuclear weapons than Russia! The Ukrainians gave up their nukes, and Russia invaded anyway.

Then, a year ago today, Russia invaded again. They thought it would be over with in about three days. But the Ukrainians fought back. I have Ukrainian friends, and I get first-hand accounts of what is happening in Ukraine. I also have Russian friends; one of them is a brilliant and soulful individual who left Russia because he could no longer tolerate living under the rule of Vladimir Putin. As we can see in the conduct of this war, the majority of Russia’s rockets, bombs, and artillery are targeted to destroy civilians and civilian infrastructure in order to make the pain of resisting so great that the people will surrender.

The pain of this realization led me to do a number of things to support the courageous Ukrainian people. And out of my own interior struggle with sorrow and outrage came this song: Ukraine! I had not written a song in many years and this song felt like a truly wondrous creative rebirth for myself as a songwriter and musician. The song Ukraine! is an outcry against the injustice of this war and its war crimes. But most of all, it’s to express my deep admiration for the Ukrainian people. They have shown us in the often cynical West that there are things worth fighting for, things worth dying for—and therefore, things worth living for.

May this song, which came from the heart of the Ukrainian people through my heart, reach your heart.

Prior, I released the first version of the song Ukraine! right after I’d written it and I shared that link with you recently. That time, I went down to the studio of my friend James Anderson and recorded it on the spot—the first take. This version was recorded with a group of musicians that came together here in Louisiana, where I am currently spending most of my time. Again, with the drums and the bass, it was a first take. This song really wanted to be recorded!

I tried to put into my guitar playing, vocals, and lyrics, the passion, the hurt, and the courage that the Ukrainian nation has demonstrated to the world. No matter what sophisticated political science nonsense people come up with to justify this bloody invasion that focuses on civilians as its target, the Ukrainians have shown us that this is their country and they are not going to run or surrender.