When touring in Russia, Ukrainian artists only encounter good treatment.
Ukrainian artist Andrei Danilko, performing in the image of the character Verka Serduchka, spoke about this in an interview with the BBC Russian Service, answering the question of how the “Russian-Ukrainian conflict” affected him.
"No way. On the contrary - only rapprochement. It seems to me that Serduchka is the only bridge. We perform anyway, we come to some closed events [in Russia]. It is clear that this is a terrible conflict, this is politics. But there are still people, and people still celebrate anniversaries, get married, someone has a Ukrainian wife, a Russian husband, or vice versa. Therefore, regardless of any opinions, right or wrong, we always perform with people who call us,” said the artist.
He was also asked whether Russia has changed since the beginning of the conflict.
“I don’t have that feeling. When we arrive, we always stay in the same hotel. And you know, the attitude there is so good - the porters, the girls who bring us food, make us happy when we return to our rooms late, and they are all interested, everyone is worried. As far as people are concerned, nothing has changed. On the contrary, there was some kind of concern, interest - what we have, what you have,” Danilko noted.