Russian pop icon speaks out against Putin’s war in Ukraine

Russian pop icon Alla Pugacheva spoke out Sunday in opposition to Moscow’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In an Instagram post, the 73-year-old pop star wrote that Russians are dying in Ukraine due to “illusory goals,” adding that citizens have been greatly affected by the conflict.

Pugacheva also wrote that she “will stand in solidarity” with her husband, TV personality and comedian Maksim Galkin, who was declared a “foreign agent” by the Kremlin’s foreign ministry on Friday.

According to The New York Times, Pugacheva fled Russia in February when the conflict began. The star, who began her acclaimed music career in 1965, since returned to Moscow, Russian news media reported.

“I am in solidarity with my husband, an honest, respectable and genuine person who is a true and incorruptible patriot of Russia, who wishes his Motherland prosperity, peaceful life, freedom of speech and the end of the death of our guys for illusory goals that are turning our country into a pariah and worsening the lives of our citizens,” Pugacheva wrote in her post.

Pugacheva’s remarks come nearly seven months since Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in the deaths of thousands on both sides and displaced millions of Ukrainian citizens.

In a statement, Kremlin official Pyotr Tolstoy referred to Pugacheva as a person who “lost touch with reality.”

“She will no longer find support among decent Russian people,” Tolstoy said in the Telegram post. “We will win without her songs.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that Pugacheva is still on the Russian side even though her husband opposed the conflict, in a sign of her political significance, the Times reported.

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