Do you really support the military? The other side of the scandal around the Antytila group

The Antytila band inspires hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians with their patriotic songs and slogans, and their lead singer Taras Topolya has repeatedly provided considerable assistance to meet humanitarian and military needs. Moreover, Antytila has always worked in Ukraine and performed songs in the native language. To me, this is a model of what a Ukrainian artist of today should be.

However, an unpleasant situation happened recently.

Ukrainian soldier Vitaliy Veres was injured and lost his eyesight while performing a combat mission in Bakhmut. The man decided to create a video about the most important battle of his life near Bakhmut to show how he was wounded and his further journey. In search of music for the video, Vitaliy chose the symbolic song "Fortress Bakhmut" by Antytila. The soldier wrote to the band's co-founder Serhiy Vusyk for permission to use the song in his biographical video, but received a rather unexpected response, "Why should we do this and give you permission to use our songs?"

Vitaliy Veres asked a logical question in an address to his subscribers, "Does your song make sense and do you really support the military?"

Serhiy Vusyk admitted his mistake and addressed the military via social media.

In fact, it's good to have two-way communication. On the positive side, Serhiy did not ignore and admitted that he had done wrong. This is rare in Ukrainian show business. But to avoid such situations, it's enough to monitor the social media of the person who is writing to you for five minutes, and you will already have a general understanding. "Crazy schedule" or "no time" is no excuse, especially when you are approached by a defense lawyer.

Artists and public figures who promote patriotism and unity during the war are a kind of intermediaries between civilians and the military. The task of such people is to establish communication between both sides, not to create obstacles, misunderstandings and incorrect situations.

I would like to appeal to all media people in Ukraine: help build a bridge of support between civilians and the military, and take special responsibility for this. The war will end someday, and we need to make a lot of efforts to help our guys and girls after the front line in recovery, rehabilitation, and integration into a new society. They need to feel our support, care, understanding and love. Remember that every morning is possible thanks to the soldiers who fight for the freedom and lives of the Ukrainian people every day at great cost.