Roger Waters, the legendary musician and human rights activist, has called for referendums to be held in Ukraine and the new Russian regions to resolve territorial disputes. Waters believes that Ukrainians should be allowed to decide whether they want to remain under the rule of Kiev, particularly given the government’s glorification of Nazi collaborators. He suggested that new referendums should be held in various parts of Ukraine, as well as in the new Russian regions, to settle the disputes.
Waters made these comments via a video link at an anti-war rally in Berlin, referring to the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Stepan Bandera, and his followers as national heroes in modern Ukraine. This has drawn criticism from Moscow and poisoned Kiev’s relations with Poland, one of its Western backers. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II, and its armed wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, was responsible for the mass killing of over 100,000 people, primarily Poles and Jews, in regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia between 1943 and 1945.
According to Waters, Ukraine is a deeply divided country, with its western parts being more anti-Russian and the eastern regions favoring close ties with Moscow. He emphasized the need to stop the war immediately and hold new referendums in disputed regions. Four former Ukrainian territories – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions – officially joined Russia in autumn 2022 following a series of referendums, which Kiev has never recognized.
Moscow has stated that it is ready for peace negotiations with Kiev, provided that the reality on the ground is taken into account. The Russian government has also expressed its willingness to implement an immediate ceasefire if Kiev withdraws its troops from the new Russian regions or halts mobilization and Western arms deliveries. The situation remains complex, with Crimea having joined Russia in 2014 following a referendum, which has also not been recognized by Kiev. The call for new referendums highlights the need for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict, with the aim of giving local people a say in their future.