Ranie Cares band kicks out drummer over Monatik's scandalous concert with Russians

The Ukrainian band Ranie Cares has announced that it has refused to further cooperate with drummer Kateryna Bahinska after she and Russian Maxim Galkin took part in a scandalous performance in Italy at a Ukrainian wedding. At the event, she was part of the singer Monatik's band.

The vocalist and founder of the Renie Cares band Iryna Panchuk and sound producer Oleksandr Musevych decided to kick out Bahinska because they believe that it is unacceptable to stand on the same stage with Russians and tolerate them in times of war. They announced this on their Instagram stories.

The drummer said she will continue to work with Monatik, so Ranie Cares had to cease their cooperation with the musician.

"We immediately turned to Katya to ask her what the issue was, why it happened, and why she allowed herself to play at the same event as Galkin. She said that she had learned about it at a sound check and didn't even think that she could refuse because she was just a musician there doing her job. I have another question: how do Monatik's booking management and Monatik itself allow themselves to do this? And why they don't warn their musicians where they are going and with whom they will play because they know exactly who will be there. If they think there is 'good Russians,' they can ask any military man what they looks like. How can you tour the United States wearing Free Asov Defenders T-shirts and then play a corporate party with Galkin? In a Russian villa, despite the fact that Ukrainians are having their wedding there. They couldn't have not known that. Because I do, for example, bookings for Ranie Cares. And before I perform somewhere, I clarify all the details," explained sound producer Oleksandr Musevych.

As he explains, it doesn't matter that Galkin learned Ukrainian, sang in Ukrainian, and probably has Israeli citizenship: a Russian will always be a Russian under any circumstances.

"Unfortunately, we have to say that as of today, Katya is no longer Ranie Cares drummer. And, unfortunately, I also have to stop working with her as a sound producer on the Drum Queen project. Although I know that Katya didn't want this, she didn't want to cooperate with Russia. She's Ukrainian, she loves her country, she still works here, she doesn't go abroad permanently. But this is not normal. And, unfortunately, we will not be able to continue working with Katya," Musevych said.

Ranie Cares vocalist Iryna Panchuk also wrote about the changes in the band on social media.

"It's hard for me to articulate my opinion, but we need to communicate as little as possible. Monatik recently had a charity tour of the United States and Canada to raise money for the Armed Forces, but then, two days after the shelling of Okhmatdyt and a number of other Ukrainian cities, he stopped by Italy to attend a corporate wedding of Ukrainians hosted by Maxim Galkin.

For me, this is strange, f**king unacceptable. I don't understand why such actions are still tolerated. Why do such big influential artists allow themselves, in fact, to collaborate with Russians who, back in 2014, supported the annexation of Crimea and were happy to perform there on Russia Day. I clearly understand that this is not the biggest problem, given the fact that cooperation with Russians in industrial spheres is not controlled at the state level. But it seems to me that there is a cumulative effect works here: constantly turning a blind eye to such small sh**heads leads to f**k-ups on a larger scale, and this should not be the norm. Most likely, after this story, Monatik's activities will not change in any way, but at least I will be honest with myself and maybe some of you will think about what values guide your actions. As Kateryna Bahinska continues her journey with Monatik, we have to end her cooperation with Renie Cares."

Both Panchuk and Musevych noted that Maksym Galkin performed in Crimea on Russia Day in 2014 after its annexation and supported the occupation regime.

What is known

Ukrainian singer Dmytro Monatik was caught in a scandal because of his performance at a lavish wedding of Ukrainians in Lake Como, Italy, where Russian Maxim Galkin sang alongside him. According to the artist's management, he agreed because the wedding fell on his day off between charity concerts in the United States and Canada. According to the team, Monatik did not say a single word in Russian and performed the songs in translation or in the original language, Ukrainian.

As journalist Alina Dorotiuk noted, no matter what citizenship Galkin has, he continues to obey Russian laws and mark his posts with "foreign agent" warning.

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