Scorpions leader says all Russians are to blame for war against Ukraine

Scorpions leader Klaus Meine said this in an interview with the Ukainian Sukhanov Speaks project.

The frontman of the popular German band shared that he was impressed by how passionately Ukrainians are devoted to their country during the months of war. 

“The fire that burns in their hearts. They are all patriots. I don't think there is anything stronger than this feeling, not to run away, but to say: 'I am facing this difficult and dangerous situation that could take my life or the lives of my loved ones, but I will be here and my country can rely on me.' In front of this, I can only bow my head and kneel down, it's really extraordinary,” the musician said.

According to Klaus Meine, he is an apolitical artist but believes that all Russians are to blame for the war against Ukraine.

“They say: 'It's not the Russians, it's the regime', but the Russians support this regime. There are various sociological studies that show how many Russians support the war. Of course, propaganda is also to blame for this. But you know, it's hard for an apolitical musician who travels all over the world to answer this question. I'd really like to say that not all Russians are to blame, but I'm afraid that's not true. I would really like them to realize what responsibility they bear,” the Scorpions leader said. 

After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Scorpions leader Klaus Meine expressed support for Ukraine at a concert in Las Vegas. In his hit song Wind of Change, he replaced the lyrics "Walking along the Moskva River to Gorky Park..." with "Now listen to my heart, it says Ukraine...".

Before singing the song, Klaus Meine expressed his support for Ukrainians, and during the performance, a symbolic peace sign in the colors of the Ukrainian flag appeared on the screen, and the stage lighting was in the same colors.

“I told my bandmates: 'I don't want to sing this song the way I've been doing it for the last 30 years, because it seems the wind has turned'. It's not the time to romanticize Russia,” the artist recalled.

He noted that in a conversation with the other band members, he expressed his belief that they should either not play the song at all or change a few lines.

“So I did, and I thought for a long time: 'What can I say?'. And I started listening to my heart. And what was in my heart? I had Ukraine in my heart! Above all, I wanted people from Ukraine to feel our solidarity. And so it was not difficult to find the first line: 'Listen to my heart, it says Ukraine and is waiting for the wind to change'. In this form, we sang this song for a whole year from March at almost sixty concerts in Europe, the United States and Canada. Many tears were shed, we saw many Ukrainian flags during our travels, and this was our contribution to support our friends from Ukraine. And this is what is in our hearts and our contribution to show how we support Ukraine,” he added.