Roger Waters Thinks He Is on a Ukrainian ‘Kill List’
Is Roger Waters a wanted man of the Ukraine government? The singer has been vocal in his response to the Russia-Ukraine war and during an interview with Rolling Stone, the onetime Pink Floyd frontman claims to be named "on a kill list supported by the Ukraine government."
Last month, Waters penned an open letter to the First Lady of Ukraine in which he asked that she and her husband "stop the slaughter" by surrendering the territories that Russia had gained control of in the current war. He then penned a second letter asking Russian president Vladimir Putin to promise not to "overrun the whole of Europe," while mentioning nothing of relenting from the current invasion of the Ukraine.
During the interview, when Waters was presented with evidence of Russian war crimes, the singer countered, “You’ve seen it on what I’ve just described to you as western propaganda. It’s exactly the obverse of saying, Russian propaganda, Russians interfered with our election, Russians did that. It’s all lies, lies, lies, lies.”
Later on within the chat, Waters expressed to the interviewer that he was "on a kill list supported by the Ukrainian government." Further elaborating, he commented, “I’m on the fucking list and they’ve killed people recently. There was that young Dugina woman in Paris who I think they were trying to bomb her father. No, in Moscow. They were trying to bomb her father-in-law [her father] and they killed her. But when they kill you, they write liquidated across your picture. Well, I’m one of those fucking pictures.”
According to Rolling Stone, the list that Waters is referring to is “maintained by a far-right Ukrainian organization that contains hundreds of thousands of enemies of Ukraine." They add that the list is not a "kill list," but is a place for “information for law enforcement authorities and special services." While it has been condemned by the Ukraine government, the list has not been removed.
These latest comments come after Waters' proposed 2023 shows in Poland were cancelled, though the singer claims he had no involvement in the dates being pulled. Waters is currently out on his "This Is Not a Drill" solo tour.
It's believed that the cancellations were a result of backlash to Waters' public letters. Krakow city councillor Łukasz Wantuch had reportedly instructed his constituents to boycott Waters' shows in Poland next year and had been behind a motion to declare Waters a "persona non grata." It was set to be voted on by the council on Sept. 28, according to the BBC.
CNN reports that Live Nation Poland confirms the show cancelations but the promoter has so far given no explanation. However, Waters responded in a Facebook statement to dispel rumors he canceled the shows himself.