Ukrainian musicians have appealed to the Office of the President of Ukraine, the government, the parliament, the National Security and Defense Council, and the language ombudsman with a demand to start a dialogue with platforms such as Apple Music and Spotify regarding the technical blocking of Russian music in Ukraine.
As stated in the message of the author's community of the NGO "UAASP", the letter was signed by 150 artists, including members of the bands TNMK, Druha Rika, Melovin and others.
"We, the creators and authors of the largest author community in Ukraine, the NGO "UAASP", appeal to Ukrainian society, the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Verkhovna Rada, the National Security and Defense Council, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, and other state institutions with an appeal to pay attention to the existing strategic threat and, finally, to respond to it systematically and effectively. After all, for many years the aggressor country Russia has been conducting systematic informational and cultural expansion against Ukraine, combining it with acts of terrorism and direct military invasion," the community said.
The public organization gave specific examples:
▪️The song Sigma Boy in Russian and the track Homey by the band AY YOLA recently went viral in Ukraine and topped the Apple Music Ukraine charts;
▪️despite the explosions of thousands of Russian shaheds, hundreds of missiles, millions of shells and FPV drones, Ukrainians continue to listen to Russian songs, and the occupiers invest enormous funds in promoting them and through them instilling propaganda narratives about "one language and one people";
▪️The musicians of the aforementioned Russian bands themselves publicly noted significant income from paid listening from Ukraine, and stated that they were sending it to support the Russian military involved in the war against Ukraine.
"We call on the relevant state bodies to finally develop and take sufficient, adequate measures to protect the Ukrainian cultural space from the expansion of Russian-language content and Russian music. Measures that, unfortunately, have not been taken during the three years of large-scale war. We appeal to all state authorities to start a dialogue with the offices of popular streaming platforms in order to technically block the possibility of downloading and streaming Russian songs on the territory of Ukraine. If necessary, develop and implement the necessary legislation," the message says.
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Finally, the NGO "UAASP" noted that the Ukrainian creative cluster, creators, musicians, artists and the entire wartime music industry do not have enough resources to independently resist the powerful Russian media roller coaster, which is moving forward under the leadership of the FSB for money received from the profits of the Russian oil and gas complex. "We need support from the state. Otherwise, we risk losing the fight for the hearts, minds and playlists of Ukrainians," the NGO concluded.
As a reminder, in February 2025, a petition to ban Russian-language songs on streaming platforms in Ukraine garnered 28,000 votes in five days. Author Oleksandr Leonenko called on the government to make legislative changes to oblige Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, and other services to restrict access to Russian-language songs in Ukraine, regardless of the nationality of the performer.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers responded to the petition and forwarded it for consideration to the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting. This state body has the authority to negotiate with foreign companies regarding content blocking in Ukraine.
In April 2025, the parliament began discussing the possibility of banning access to Russian-language music on streaming platforms for Ukrainian users. During a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada subcommittee on music industries of the committee on humanitarian and information policy, it became clear that there are currently no mechanisms for banning access to Russian-language music, and streaming platforms refuse to restrict this content at the request of the Ukrainian authorities.
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