Andriy khlyvnyuk, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you for having me here. Good day, sir. Its a pleasure to have you here. Im very mindful that youve just made a pretty extraordinaryjourney, serving on the front line in ukraine with the Security Forces just a couple of days ago, and then, a long journey to here in london. In a couple of days, you will be making music in front of Tens Of Thousands of people at chelsea football stadium. All of that sounds kind of surreal. Does it feel that way to you . This is one kind of contrast. Three days ago, me and, actually, my partner who is here as a Shooting Cameraman we were under Artillery Fire in kherson and then, a trip by bus, sleep on a bus last night, and then, a flight here, and here i am. This is quite a contrast, believe me. And im very, very glad and happy to observe People Living a peaceful life and having peace problems, chatting in cafes and having, i dont know, everything even those trafficjams is fun. Is there any sense of guilt when you leave . Because, you know, youve been serving for the best part of a year and a half. Youve taken breaks, youve taken boombox your very well known and successful band youve taken them on tour a few times outside of ukraine. Three times. To western europe, even the united states. When you leave, is there any sense of guilt . Yeah, you feel guilty. You tell yourself that this is very important work, that youre going to collect some donations maybe, you will inform, you will bring the news, you know, to tell people around the world about whats going on and what help do we need. But you feel guilty because you leave your equipages over there, and you are very, very worried about them, so because they miss one or two they miss you, actually. So, if you are a small team, even a small team, as well i do, i have a small squad of drone, er, fighting drones. Youre a Drone Operator . Yeah, im a Drone Operator. So, i know theyre going to miss the pilot, so they will do another work, maybe more dangerous, maybe less, i dont know, but. Well, you know, you want to return as fast as its possible to. Well talk more about what its like on the front line in a moment, but i just want to take you back to February 24th, 2022. You were in ukraine you were preparing, actually, for a Major International tour at the time. Russian tanks rolled across the border it was putins all out invasion. Did you, at any point, feel you had a choice about whether to sign up and serve, don that uniform, and become a soldier . Our kids were in the fire. My ex wife, my small kids, my mum. I had no it was not about the choice. Im a grown up, mighty man, 40 plus and theres some people who need my help because theyre under fire. Their houses are about to be destroyed. And unfortunately, people are going to be, you know, robbed, and some raped, so, you have to you dont think a lot about that, you just, you know, youre going to go and defend, because it happens in your home. Imagine i think youd do the same. You have no choice, actually. I guess nobody truly knows what theyd do till it happens to them. But im just wondering whether you saw yourself as a politicised artist, musician, performer long before february 2022. Was politics a part of your make up . No, it was not. I was an activist. Even here in london, in 2000 2015, when i met my good friends from Belarus Free Theatre and then, David Gilmourfrom pink floyd, and they helped me bring some voices of Political Prisoners. Yeah, youd been active working publicising the cases of a number of different Political Prisoners inside russia. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it was not i was not a part of a Political Movement, never. But what you had done and this is very noticeable in your career you had, as a group, boombox, you had made a big decision in 2014, after putin launched his First Military operations which, of course, involved the ultimate annexation of crimea, Russian Operations in the donbas as well after that, you said despite the fact your band was huge in russia you said, no more touring in russia. Were not going there again. Yeah, because they said. First, it was an invasion. Crimea was a part of ukraine, as was my home, cherkasy. It doesnt matter. You know, donbas or kyiv, or lviv it doesnt matter. And the second one, people were killed. Russians say they didnt kill no one, that it was a peaceful occupation no, they did. So, they are International Criminals with weapons. The first day, they shot a ukrainian. The first the name of the First Casualty was genya. His name was genya, and he was serving in the ukrainian army. He was on the height, doing hisjob in a military camp, and he was killed. After that happened, we all understood its going to be it is a war. But in 2014, other ukrainian artists took different decisions, i mean, because partly, its about money. I mean, your biggest audience was in russia. I believe Something Like three quarters of your sales, music sales, record sales, were in russia. And there were other bands in similar situations who continued to play in russia. What did you make of them . Did you judge them . No, i dont care. The you know, when you do something, you have you know, sooner or later, youll face the consequences. So, if you think about if you if you have a choice. Its not about being judged or tojudge someone. Its about the. Every day, you wake up and you see yourself in the mirror or you go to bed in the evening and theres nobody there, no one tojudge except you, and you are the biggest judge of yourself. So, is it would it be comfortable for you to be with you all alone . Yeah. And its not about money. Who cares about the silky sheets on your bed or a simpler one . You will not be able to answer your kids question, what did you do when that happened . And they will ask it, they will ask it, obligatory, after they grow up. Lets talk about your view of russia because youre in a fascinating position, as i say, as an artist, as a performer. Russia was really important to you, and indeed, you sang songs in the russian language. Yeah. You really connected with your audience. You had a huge number of fans in russia. Yeah, thousands of fans. And im sure you loved the fact that you had thousands of fans in russia. It was not about loving the fact of selling it was my. It was the work of my life. But my point is that you had this ability to connect with russians on a cultural, artistic level. Yeah. It was a great connection. So, i wonder whats going through your mind now . Because, you know, it may be that on the front line, some of the young men who you are looking at on your screen with your Drone Operations, they may be big fans of boombox. Yeah. They may know all the lyrics to your songs. They may do. And im very. Its i feel very pity for them because it didnt work. On their. What do you mean, it didnt work . What didnt work . Most of them 0k, some of them danced on their school, the last evening at school how do you what is the english for this . You know, the evening when you. Well, you have the prom night, you have the last dance, all of that. Yeah, yeah. And you think they were sometimes listening to your music . Of course, because it was top, like, top 100 songs. And they didnt understand that you dont want to go there to fight the guy because he did Nothing Wrong, because we did Nothing Wrong to them. And they came to our land and started killing and destroying homes, and kidnapping. Do you its a hard word to use but do you now feel a hate, a hatred for these young men who are. . No, i dont feel hate. No, idon� t feel hate, no, no, no. Its disgusting, but. Maybe a pity or. No. Im just wondering, when you have been an artist, your tools are your voice, your guitar. Are you finding it possible to kill people . Im not killing any people. Im not doing killings. I have to eliminate International Criminals out of my mums garden. I have to push them back to where they came from. But the surveillance Drone Operations youre conducting are, of course. Its not about killings. I dont want to kill anyone. They canjust simply take their stuff and go back, if they want to. There are also russians who i know have reached out to you and talked about their what theyve described as shame at whats been done in their name by the Russian Military and the russian government. How do you respond to that . Ifeel pity for them. Theyve lost their own motherland. They became somehow, just for telling the truth, they became the. Sighs. I dont know. Out of the law over there. You couldnt tell you couldnt call that the law. Terrorists and maniac. Society says to all those people who are voting for peace that they are illegal. Maybe thats the best thing for them to do. Do you sing any songs in russian anymore . No. No, i dont. Can you imagine ever again using russian . After war, maybe in some years. But ive seen terrible terror. I was a witness of terrible things when we when we de occupied the occupied territories, and ive seen things that as long as this war lasts, i cannot imagine me singing my own russian songs. You were in bucha . Yeah, in bucha, in irpin and then, on the east, Eastern Front and now, for a year, i am on the Southern Front and ive seen what they did to the kherson region because im in kherson right now, so. Given what youve just told me, im just kind of struggling to think how, sometimes, you go onstage in front of that sea of faces and sing the rock songs that you have to sing, because thats what your fans expect. No, i dont have to sing any songs. The rap music Is Rock And Roll is freedom, for the first and then, all the rest, you are free to do whatever you want and your audience is free to observe it, to be a part of it or go home, its ok. Im not forced to sing some, i dont know, material i dont want to neither is any musician, i think. We have seen, in russia, a real split, you know, there have been some artists and im thinking particularly of singers, your particular, sort of, part of the arts some singers like alla pugacheva, very famous russian female singer one of the most famous who made clear her opposition to the war. Weve seen others and i think his name is nikolay rastorguev, one of the big russian singers who takes pride in appearing at putins rallies and being a cheerleader for the war. Do you feel theres a danger that you could be used by the Ukrainian Government as that kind of cheerleader, a rouser of patriotic feelings . See, this is the difference. When we are fighting for common rights and the right of a life being common for all the normal world, its not only about existing of the ukrainian nation and ukrainian culture. Its about sharing the same values of International Law that are welcomed in europe, or in this continent, or in this world. We all want to be in peace. And from one hand, from the other hand, the cheerleaders of dictatorship and destroying and conquering, i think theres a huge difference between that. And i didnt take part and i wont take part, i think, in any electoral, you know. Youve neverfelt youre being used . No, i didnt. No, no. Even now, im not a part of any Political Movement or political party. Im just a private in a war police. Thats it. I tell you what i want to do right now, andriy, i want us both to look at a really interesting piece of video. Its something that was filmed just three days after the all out russian invasion was launched on February 24th and it is you, in uniform, choosing to go into one of kyiv� s Central Squares and, without any accompaniment, just sing a simple, historic folk song. Yeah. That many ukrainians regard as one of their most beautiful songs. Lets watch the video, and then, we can talk about it. 0y U Luzi Chervona KalynaPochylylasya ChohosNasha Slavna Ukrayina zazu rylasya A My Tuyu ChervonuKalynu Pidiymemo A My Nashu Slavnu ukrayinu hey, hey, rozveselymo thats a pretty extraordinary image. Its a silent city because, of course, the war had broken out, people were staying in their hiding places, in their bunkers. Youre on the street, youre carrying your weapon, your dark glasses, and youre singing a very traditional song. It went viral. Millions and millions of people have watched that. One of them was the founder of pink floyd, dave gilmour. Yeah. Who was so touched by it, he incorporated your vocal. Mm hm. Into a pink floyd new release. Yeah. In fact, their first new release for many years. Since 1994. What did that make you feel . I was injured, i was in the hospital, and he gave me a calland said, hey, andriy. Would you mind if i use your vocals in a release of a pink floyd . And i was like, are you kidding me . Sir, would i mind . Its a dream of every musician in the world, actually, a young one, or, i dont know. Youre a legend of course i will. Of course, and that brought accept of a huge effort. I mean, the moral one. All the money from the release was directed by sir david and his crew to a charity in ukraine. And thats true because i know it i have many, many things from different Charity Organisations in ukraine. They called me, i know some of them, i know. And they call me and say, please tell all english people who have listened to the song, all the people all over the world whove donated using the song, playing it on youtube and different things, that we are very glad and grateful. And they say, always say thank you to sir david and everyone you meet who is involved in that, because it helps, it saves lives. Its funny because. It was 500,000. Yeah, it has had a huge impact, and i noticed, ijust looked on the internet, its also raised hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars for ukraine. But its also made me think, do you think that in war, art has to have some sort of utility, like using it for Fundraising Purposes . Is there really room in ukraine today, in wartime, when it is an increasingly militarised society, is there room for art for arts sake, music for musics sake . There is always room for art. It is a part of our life as crucial as food, sleep. The main task in this struggle is not to find yourself similar to your enemy. And if you skip art, if you skip kindness, skip help, you will find yourselfjust, you know, the same invader or same fighter, just trying to survive. But does it change your art . You know, do you feel now a need to be, sort of, more patriotic, to focus maybe your songwriting on the struggle, the war . No. No, i dont. Not at all . Not at all. You dont have to point your thoughts into, lets write songs about winning, struggling no, its not the art. It is a conductor. So, you dont have to do it if you dont want to. If you feel that way, of course, you are able to do it, no problem. Before we end, because we dont have much time. 0k. I just want to ask you, as somebody who has a huge young fan base in ukraine, who knows young ukrainians very well, do you worry about the morale of ukrainians today . You know, that video was taken on february 27, 2022. 18 months later, ukraine has suffered the loss of so many civilians and soldiers, so many millions displaced, young people, perhaps beginning to think, what is my future . Do you worry about their morale . Im worried about your singers that will have to learn the things ive learned. Now im closer than seven miles away, in ukraine, im here with you and you guys watching me on your tv. Im very worried that you dont see your neighbour, close neighbour in me, if you dont. Because if you do, give me all the weapons you would give to your boys to protect you from the evil. And if you wont give it to me, then your sons and your brothers, and your singers and your writers will become Machine Gunners and drone pilots like i did. Consider this. And morale is only one. The only task of a normal defence part, as a soldier, is to defend women and kids no matter what nations they are of. But andriy, its easy for me to say because im not where you are, im in london. But, looking from the outside, putin appears to be determined to fight this war as long as it takes for him to achieve what he would call a victory. Russia has the scale, the size, the men, the weaponry that ukraine cannot match in pure numbers. Mm hm. If we all agree this guy is a war criminal, then we have to take him dead or alive. And thats going to be the end of this war. Its easy. Well, we have to end there. Chuckles but andriy khlyvnyuk, its great to see you in london. Thank you, sir, thank you for having me. And, after that long journey, thank you for coming in to the hardtalk studio. Thank you. Hello. Temperatures across the uk may well be slightly above the average over the next couple of days, but it is only a brief window of warmth, unfortunately, because showers are set to return as we head into the weekend. So lets Take A Look Atjust what is happening. Weve got this area of High Pressure building from the southwest. Yes, this weak warm front topples across the high, so it will continue to bring some Nuisance Cloud as we start the day, particularly across northern ireland, west facing coasts of wales and southwest england. So thick enough maybe once again for some misty conditions, a little bit drizzly from time to time. But further north and east, youll continue to see some sunshine and some Warmth Building as we go through the day, so temperatures will respond, up to highs perhaps of 24 celsius mid 70s fahrenheit. Now, warmer still as we move into thursday. Well see any cloud starting to break up. Well have clear skies through the night, and because the air� s coming from the south, it will stay on the mild side. Temperatures mid teens to start the day on thursday. So its a southerly wind at the moment and its going to be tapping into some pretty hot air once again across spain, and that will move its way steadily northwards on thursday. So thursday will be our sunniest and our warmest day of the week. Any cloud that we have first thing should tend to thin and break up in places, there will be plenty of sunshine, the best perhaps for england and wales and the far north of scotland, and the highest temperatures are likely to be across eastern england, 25 26, possibly 27 celsius nudging close to 80 fahrenheit. Unfortunately, it isnt set to last. As this area of low pressure will move in and the cold front, as it bumps into that warmth, could spark some pretty intense outbreaks of rain for a time, moving out of northern ireland, pushing its way into scotland and Northern England during the day. It will be fairly light and showery in nature across Southeast England and, once again, thats where were likely to see the best of the warmth still. With the sunshine coming through, we might still see temperatures into the mid 20s thats the mid 70s. Now, as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, once again low pressure is going to be anchored to the far northwest. Were getting quite familiar to this scenario, arent we . So there will be showers or longer spells of rain. Itll be quite breezy at times. Thats going to push those showers through quite readily. The most frequent showers closest to the centre of the low pressure, so further south and east, hopefully fewer showers, more sunshine and, again, still those temperatures into the low 20s. For the second half of the weekend, the low pressure not really moving very far very fast. It drifts its way steadily eastwards, the isobars open up further south, the winds fall light and, hopefully, showers should be few and further between here. But still, closest to that low, into northern ireland, across scotland, there will continue to be plenty of showers through the day. So not quite as warm here, 18 19 celsius. Highest values by sunday afternoon of 22 celsius 72 fahrenheit. Now, as we go into next week, it looks likely that low pressure will drift away and allow brief ridges of highs to build and quieten things down for a time before the next low pressure moves in off the atlantic. So it is going to stay pretty unsettled, but there will be some drier interludes from time to time. So not quite as bad as it has been of late. Hopefully sunny spells, a few scattered showers and at times in the sunshine, we cling on to a little bit more in the way of warmth. Thats it, take care. Welcome to newsday. Reporting live from singapore, im mariko 0i. The headlines South AmericanLeaders Launch a new alliance to save the amazon but stop short of pledging to end deforestation by 2030. 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