Let people decide whether they want to be ruled by ‘disciples of Bandera’ – Roger Waters

Referendums should be held in Ukraine and the new Russian regions to settle all territorial disputes, the legendary musician has said

Ukrainians should be allowed to decide whether they still want to be ruled over by Kiev, now that it glorifies Nazi collaborators, Pink Floyd frontman and human rights activist Roger Waters has said. New referendums should be held in various parts of Ukraine, as well as in the new Russian regions to settle all territorial disputes, the legendary musician believes.

“Let the local people decide whether they want to stay part of Ukraine ruled by the disciples of Stepan Bandera,” the rock legend told a massive anti-war rally in Berlin on Saturday via a video link.

He was referring to the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) – a World War II-era organization that collaborated with Nazi Germany. Its armed wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), waged a mass killing campaign in regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia between 1943 and 1945 against Poles and Jews, in which more than 100,000 people perished.

Modern Ukraine treats Bandera and his followers as national heroes. Such policies have drawn the ire of Moscow and even poisoned Kiev’s relations with one of its active Western backers – Poland.

According to Waters, Ukraine is “a deeply divided country,” with its Western parts being “more anti-Russian” and the eastern regions speaking Russian and favoring close ties with Moscow. “Stop the war immediately and hold new referendums in… disputed [regions],” the musician stated in his address.

Four former Ukrainian territories – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions – officially joined Russia in autumn 2022 following a series of referendums. Kiev never recognized the results and continues to lay claim to the four regions, as well as Crimea, which joined Russia in 2014 following another referendum.

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Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is ready for peace negotiations with Kiev as long as the reality on the ground is taken into account. It also said it was ready for an immediate ceasefire once Kiev either withdraws its troops from the new Russian regions or halts mobilization and Western arms deliveries.