Russian concerts in Paris draw moral criticism, UWC vice president says

PARIS – Hosting performances by artists who have publicly supported the war-mongering Russian government raises serious moral and societal questions, said Volodymyr Kogutyak, UWC Vice President for Western Europe and Vice President of the Association of Ukrainians in France (AUF).

Kogutyak commented to RFI Ukrainian on the concert program at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, which plans to feature several Russian performers during the upcoming spring season.

“Culture should never be used as a tool for political propaganda,” he said.

Kogutyak added that Russia is a terrorist state, which is responsible for war crimes, and is bent on destroying Ukrainian culture amid a genocidal war. Organizing such concerts during wartime is neither neutral nor acceptable, he emphasized.

“While France is hosting Ukrainian seasons like ‘Culture Strikes Back,’ this ‘Russian program’ in the heart of Paris comes across as a provocation,” he said, calling for the performances to be stopped.