EU imposes 10-year ban on Ukrainian singer following derogatory comments about Poland
A Ukrainian singer has received a ten-year ban from the EU after allegedly insulting the Polish language and encouraging Poles to converse in Russian. He asserts that his remarks were made in jest. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Ukrainian musician Kirill Bledny has announced that he has been banned from entering the European Union after making disparaging comments about the Polish language last year. In the wake of criticism from Polish citizens, the frontman of the band Poshlaya Molly has issued an apology, asserting that his remarks were intended as a joke.
In November, Bledny shared a video clip filled with expletives in which he expressed his frustration with the Polish language, stating: “You know what annoys me in Poland? The Polish language f**king annoys me!” He further questioned why people would choose to speak Polish over Russian, suggesting, “just learn Russian and f**king speak a normal language.” Bledny also made a provocative remark about the historical ties between Poland and Russia, saying, “There’s the Russian Empire – just join it, for f**ck’s sake, join it as you did before.”
Following the backlash, Bledny shared that he had to hastily leave Poland and eventually relocated to Georgia. Days later, he attempted to enter Lithuania for an album recording but was stopped at the border. After several hours, an official informed him that he had been banned from entering the EU for three years. When he sought to appeal the ruling, he was told the ban had been extended to ten years.
“It’s f**ked up, I know. [So f**ked up] that it’s even funny,” Bledny remarked in an interview.
The band’s repertoire primarily features songs in Russian, and they frequently performed in Russia until the escalation of conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, which led them to denounce Moscow’s actions, leave the country, and cancel all concerts planned in Russia.
In a recent interview with the Russian-language media outlet Flow, Bledny, whose real name is Timoshenko, reiterated that his earlier comments were meant as a “bad joke.” When asked about the possibility of performing in Poland, the 27-year-old confirmed that he was barred from entering the entire EU for ten years.
His remarks have stirred up sensitive historical issues related to the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, during which a weakened Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided by Austria, Prussia, and the Russian Empire, resulting in the loss of Polish sovereignty and the incorporation of significant Polish territories into the Russian Empire until its dissolution after the 1917 revolution.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
In November, Bledny shared a video clip filled with expletives in which he expressed his frustration with the Polish language, stating: “You know what annoys me in Poland? The Polish language f**king annoys me!” He further questioned why people would choose to speak Polish over Russian, suggesting, “just learn Russian and f**king speak a normal language.” Bledny also made a provocative remark about the historical ties between Poland and Russia, saying, “There’s the Russian Empire – just join it, for f**ck’s sake, join it as you did before.”
Following the backlash, Bledny shared that he had to hastily leave Poland and eventually relocated to Georgia. Days later, he attempted to enter Lithuania for an album recording but was stopped at the border. After several hours, an official informed him that he had been banned from entering the EU for three years. When he sought to appeal the ruling, he was told the ban had been extended to ten years.
“It’s f**ked up, I know. [So f**ked up] that it’s even funny,” Bledny remarked in an interview.
The band’s repertoire primarily features songs in Russian, and they frequently performed in Russia until the escalation of conflict with Ukraine in February 2022, which led them to denounce Moscow’s actions, leave the country, and cancel all concerts planned in Russia.
In a recent interview with the Russian-language media outlet Flow, Bledny, whose real name is Timoshenko, reiterated that his earlier comments were meant as a “bad joke.” When asked about the possibility of performing in Poland, the 27-year-old confirmed that he was barred from entering the entire EU for ten years.
His remarks have stirred up sensitive historical issues related to the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, during which a weakened Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was divided by Austria, Prussia, and the Russian Empire, resulting in the loss of Polish sovereignty and the incorporation of significant Polish territories into the Russian Empire until its dissolution after the 1917 revolution.
Ramin Sohrabi contributed to this report for TROIB News
