Franz Ferdinand cancel their upcoming Russia shows following Ukraine invasion

Franz Ferdinand have announced a North American tour following the release of their greatest hits compilation, ‘Hits To The Head’ – buy tickets here.The US leg runs from August to September with stops in Atlanta, New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles and will mark the Scottish band’s first tour of the country since 2018. General on-sale for the tour kicks off Friday (March 18) at 10am local time.

A tearful Russian soldier has blasted Vladimir Putin on camera for killing civilians and children during their invasion of Ukraine.

Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova has spoken out in a new interview against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, calling the Russian leader “insane”.Tolokonnikova and her Pussy Riot bandmates have been longtime critics of Putin’s regime, with Tolokonnikova herself spending two years in a Siberian prison for dissenting. Earlier this year, she and bandmate Nika Nikulshina were labelled “foreign agents” by the Russian government.In a new interview with The Guardian, Tolokonnikova discussed her fears for the people of Ukraine and the jeopardy facing Russians who speak out against Putin.“Putin just signed a law that said you’re going to get 15 years in jail for even discussing the war in Ukraine,” she said.

Netflix is no longer serving customers in Russia amid the Ukraine invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.

Iron Maiden have announced that their upcoming summer shows in Ukraine and Russia have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflict between the neighbouring countries.The band were set to perform at VDNG in Kyiv, Ukraine on May 29 before visiting VTB Arena in Moscow Russia on June 1 as part of their 2022 ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ world tour.Sharing a statement on social media, Iron Maiden said “the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows” due to the “ongoing situation in Ukraine”.“We are very sorry to announce that due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the promoters have cancelled the two Iron Maiden shows scheduled for May 29th in Kyiv and June 1st in Moscow on the 2022 Legacy Of The Beast World Tour,” the band tweeted.The band added that ticket-holders would we informed by the respective promoters on refunds, and concluded by stating: “Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.”Ticket-holders for both shows will be informed by the respective promoters on refunds at the appropriate time. Our priority is, and will always be, the safety of our fans.— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) March 3, 2022Since the conflict started, the likes of Iggy Pop, Yungblud, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are among the acts who have scrapped dates due to the ongoing crisis.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last Thursday (February 24).Ukraine, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union.

Franz Ferdinand have cancelled their Russian shows and apologised to residents who they know 'see the madness' of their country's leadership.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have cancelled their scheduled concerts in Russia and Ukraine “in light of current events”.The group were due to perform at Bol Festival in Moscow, Russia on June 18 before visiting the Palace Of Sports complex in Kyiv, Ukraine on August 19 as part of a wider run of dates for 2022.Sharing a statement on social media, Cave and co. said they had “no choice but to cancel” the shows following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week.

Actor Sean Penn has told fans that he 'walked miles' to the Polish border after being caught up in the Ukraine invasion.

New sanctions have been announced targeting Russia's central bank.

Eurovision Song Contest, following backlash to an earlier statement saying the country would be allowed to compete despite launching a military assault on Ukraine.Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and declared martial law, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on Thursday (February 24).At the time of writing, at least 137 civilians have been killed in Ukraine with 316 injured (via The Guardian). It is currently being reported that Russian forces are now approaching Kyiv, the country’s capital (via BBC News).The UK, European Union, US and Australia have imposed sanctions on Russia in response, with Putin warning of “consequences you have never seen” if the West attempts to interfere.Many figures from the music world continue to condemn the attacks.

Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos has paid tribute to the “open and welcoming” people of Kyiv in a new Instagram post.It comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation yesterday (February 24).Writing on Instagram, Kapranos paid tribute to Ukraine sharing a picture of the time he and his band visited Kyiv.He wrote: “This is Kyiv when we visited less than three and a half years ago. I loved this city which had a sense of optimism in amongst the deep history. The people were welcoming, open and comfortable in their identity.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Russian invasion of Ukraine is reverberating in the classical music world, where star conductor Valery Gergiev, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is being forced to cancel engagements at La Scala in Italy as well as Carnegie Hall and other venues in the U.S.Gergiev, known to be an old friend and vocal supporter of Putin, last conducted Tchaikovsky’s opera “The Queen of Spades” on Wednesday evening at Milan’s famed La Scala opera house, where he was lightly booed, according to Italian press reports.On Thursday, as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala, who is the president of La Scala, publicly urged Gergiev to condemn Russia’s invasion, saying that if the conductor — who has not commented Putin’s move — did not issue a statement, “the collaboration will be over,” he said. Gergiev is next scheduled to appear at La Scala on March 5.