He works as a taxi driver in Kyiv, but does not consider Putin to be responsible for the war. Where is the lead singer of the legendary band Nancy, who was born in Donbas, now?

Anatoliy Bondarenko, a singer, and composer from Donbas who once founded the popular band Nancy, does not consider Russian leader Putin to be responsible for the war in Ukraine. According to the performer of the tracks "Smoke of Menthol Cigarettes," "Dream Girl" and others, "one should not blame some presidents and leaders," but one can shift the responsibility to abstract people who create "comfortable conditions for politicians."

The band's leader continues to sing and communicate in Russian while living and working in Kyiv. Kateryna Zhemchuzhnykova, who was riding with him in a taxi, told X (formerly Twitter).

"I just got a taxi home from a man who, as it turned out, was a musician from a band from Donetsk Oblast that was known throughout the post-Soviet space in the 90s. I thought he was exaggerating a bit, and when I got home and googled it, I was a little freaked out," the user wrote.

We were talking about the band Nancy and its frontman Bondarenko, who was born in Kostiantynivka. He calls his place of birth as follows: "I was born on the planet Earth! My native place is Ukraine, Donetsk region, the town of Konstantinovka".

Since the band's songs were very popular in both Russia and Ukraine, the singer's followers demanded an explanation of who he considers responsible for the genocide of Ukrainians, to which they received an evasive answer about a world "without borders, politics, and wars."

"I am not against anyone, but against something! I am against violence and wars. I am for the creation and prosperity of civilization! I am for love! Who is to blame for this and other wars? People are to blame! Those who create comfortable conditions for politicians and delegate their authority to do so. So we should not blame presidents and leaders alone. Wars are not started without the approval, support, and participation of people," the artist said.

According to Bondarenko, to end the war, people must recognize the Earth as their homeland.

By the way, the artists are touring Ukraine with their Russian-language repertoire, where they gather large audiences. Moreover, there are fragments of performances abroad on the artist's page. It is not clear how the 58-year-old musician traveled to sing in Vilnius, for example. Obviously, the concert was not aimed at popularizing Ukrainian culture or collecting donations for the Armed Forces.

On February 24, 2022, the singer was in Ukraine, but he never called Russia guilty of war or genocide. Instead, he thanked everyone who was "for peace," delighted his followers with cheerful posts, and returned to planning his tour.

He played concerts abroad that year but did not agree to go to Russia. There is also information that the band leader volunteered in Boryspil at the beginning of the full-scale war.

Interestingly, the artist lived in Moscow for many years but was expelled in 2016. Employees of the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation did not allow the Ukrainian to enter the country and kept him at the airport for a day.

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