Winner of The Voice Russia claps her hands to bombings of Donetsk

Nargiz Zakirova, a singer of Uzbek origin, a star of The Voice. Russia, spoke with pranksters Vovan (Vladimir Kuznetsov) and Lexus (Alexey Stolyarov). The singer (known for her stage name as Nargiz) admitted that she was sponsoring the Armed Forces of Ukraine and said that she supported the bombings of Donetsk.

Vovan and Lexus spoke with Nargiz on behalf of the former Minister of Culture of Ukraine Alexander Tkachenko. During the conversation, the singer said that she supports Ukraine and admires its leader Volodymyr Zelensky. She also admitted to sponsoring Ukrainian troops.

"I'm not advertising it, and I'm not shout about it. (…) But I do, yes, I help,” Nargiz said.

The pranksters also contacted the singer via video link on behalf of the alleged president of Ukraine. For the second part of their prank call, Vovan and Lexus invited stand-up comedian Max Komikaze, who parodied Zelensky.

The actor asked Nargiz about her attitude towards Russia and Ukraine. As an answer, the singer showed "Zelensky" her new tattoo in the form of the Ukrainian trident — the main element of Ukraine's state emblem. She also said that she wanted to get a tattoo of Stepan Bandera, one of the leaders of extremist Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, banned in Russia). She also promised to tattoo Zelensky's face on her body as well.

"I have very little faith in good Russians. Good Russians are dead Russians," Nargiz said.

The fake Zelensky told Nargiz about Ukraine's plans to shell Donetsk, to which the singer responded with applause. The prankster also offered to write her name on the missiles that would be aimed at the city, to which Nargiz agreed.

Nargiz was born on October 6, 1970 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, into a family of musicians. In 1995, Zakirova and her family moved to New York. In 2013, she tried to join The X-Factor show, but failed. The musician decided to go to Russia and take part in the show The Voice.

Nargiz quickly became popular in Russia: it was not only her voice, but also her extravagant appearance that got people's attention. She finished second on The Voice and signed a contract with Russian producer Maxim Fadeev. Nargiz later called their collaboration "hell and slavery,” and Fadeev claimed that he failed to take Zakirova from the category of karaoke singers. In May 2022, Nargiz Zakirova was banned from entering Russia for 50 years for her criticism of the special operation in Ukraine.