Zelenskyy Asks ‘What Is More Opposite of Music? War’ in GRAMMY Speech

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appeared at the 64th annual Grammy Awards to give a pre-taped speech amid Russia’s continued invasion of his country.

Variety:

An insider confirmed the appearance to Variety ahead of the Grammys broadcast. President Zelenskyy shot the video within the last 48 hours in a bunker in Kyiv. The video introduced John Legend’s performance about two hours into the show.

“The war. What is more opposite of music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people,” Zelenskyy said. “Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died, and we will never see them drawing. Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning in bomb shelters, but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again. The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence.”

Read the full transcript below:

“The war. What’s more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children draw swooping rockets, not shooting stars. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died, and we will never see them drawing.

“Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning — in bomb shelters, but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again. The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence.

“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals — even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway. We defend our freedom to live, to love, to sound.

“On our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs — the dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about this war on your social networks, on TV.

“Support us in any way you can. Any — but not silence. And then peace will come to all our cities the war is destroying — Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Volnovakha, Mariupol and others. They are legends already, but I have a dream of them living — and free, like you on the Grammy stage.”