This week, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in loss of life and significant property damage. In response, Ukrainian acts like Jinjer condemned Vladimir Putin, the Eurovision Song Contest dropped Russia from its 2022 competition, and Russian punk activists Pussy Riot launched an NFT campaign to raise relief funds. Now, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has taken to Twitter to say that he officially approves of Ukrainians using Twisted Sister’s hit song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as their rallying cry.
On his Twitter, Dee wrote the following:
“I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as their battlecry. My grandfather was Ukrainian, before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This can’t happen to these people again! #FUCKRUSSIA”
When a fan told Dee that it wasn’t Russia but Vladimir Putin who was to blame for the invasion, Snider went after it:
“Understood (though they are claiming 60% of Russians support this invasion). But the Russian people (many who are already protesting) need to take responsibility for the piece of shit they have allowed to stay in powre for 22 years. #FUCKPUTIN
He then clarified his 60% statistic, claiming:
“Unfortunately they are being fed a stream of propaganda by the Russian government telling them that the Ukraine is the aggressor.”
We think Dee’s spot on, and while we understand Russian metalheads who don’t approve of the war feeling attacked by his statements, we also understand that trying to separate Putin and contemporary Russia feels like a bit of a fool’s errand at this point and time. While millions of Russians believe the invasion of Ukraine is criminal and brutal, the country itself is in the midst of launching a full-scale invasion. We can forgive Dee Snider for calling out the nation as a whole, and think he handled the correction well by following his initial tweet up with the ‘#FUCKPUTIN’ hashtag.
You can check out the tweets below.