Photo: David Livingston/Getty; SERGEI GUNEYEV/Sputnik/AFP/Getty
Ballet dancer and choreographerMikhail Baryshnikovsaid Russia “will die from its own horror” inan open letterto Russian PresidentVladimir Putinamid the country’s invasion into Ukraine.
Baryshnikov, 74, began his dance career in the Kirov Ballet in Russia before deflecting to Canada. He joined the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet before becoming an artistic director. He also guest starred onSex and the City.
The legendary performer’s powerful message came afterPutin bannedthe website of his charity,True Russia, which has been raising money to benefit Ukrainian refugees.
In the letter shared on True Russia’s website, Baryshnikov opened up about how “fear” led to the website’s ban.
“People like us have brought more honor to the Russian world than all of your not-so-precise precision-guided munitions,” he shared of the charity’s co-founders. “Your Russian world, the world of fear, the world in which they burn Ukrainian textbooks, will not live on as long as there are people like us — True Russians immunized from the disease of fear.”
He continued, “It is our world that will live on despite all your bans, and it is your Russia that will die from its own horror unless it wakes up.”
Baryshnikov concluded the letter with a direct message to Putin.
“You know what you fear. You know whose munitions are precise,” he shared.
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
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With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
