Corey Taylor sends message to Ukrainian fans as Slipknot postpone Russia, Ukraine and Belarus shows

“We take this step in support of our community and in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, for whom the struggle continues, in a new and more terrible form,” the band wrote

Slipknot have announced that their upcoming July shows in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are being postponed in light of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Iowan metal band took to social media on Wednesday (March 2) to break the news, saying that new dates will be arranged for the three postponed concerts in Kyiv, Moscow and Minsk. Slipknot will seemingly proceed with the rest of their summer Europe tour as planned.

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“We had looked forward to reuniting with our fans in these incredible cities, coming back together after global lockdown. But we take this step in support of our community and in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, for whom the struggle continues, in a new and more terrible form,” the band wrote.

“We also acknowledge that our Russian and Belarusian fans are overwhelmingly untied with the Ukrainians in their fight for peace. The safety and well-being of our global families is, and always will be, our top priority.”

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has also shared a message for his Ukrainian fans, accompanied by his son Griffin: “We just want to send our love, our best wishes to all of our family and friends in the Ukraine. Stay strong, we’re with you, we’re standing with you and we’re thinking about you. Hopefully, we will see you soon. Stay strong.”

Slipknot are now the latest act to reschedule or cancel shows in Russia and Ukraine. Their decision comes after Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24.

The actions of Putin, who has claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine and that his country’s actions amount to a “special military operation”, have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe.

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Reactions to the situation in Ukraine from prominent figures in the worlds of music, entertainment and politics have been posted on social media, with the likes of Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes, Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex KapranosYungblud, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Taika Waititi and Amanda Palmer all speaking out in support of Ukraine.

Ukraine, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union. As the BBC reports, Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards embracing European institutions like NATO and the EU.

Putin is now demanding guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join NATO, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.

You can donate here to the Red Cross to help those affected by the conflict.

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