​U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Alexei Navalny during the U2 Sphere Residency concert in Las Vegas, where he performed a song in honor of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who died suddenly on Friday at the age of 47 in – prison in of Russia, People magazine writes.

Before performing a cover of Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over, the U2 frontman gave a lengthy introduction about the fight for freedom.

“Next will be Poland, next will be Lithuania, East Germany”

• “Edge and I happened to be with some people from Ukraine when they were at that station, which was a converted anti-radio shelter.
• We ended up sitting with some people from Ukraine while they waited for the train with the rest of the free world to arrive. They are still waiting for part of that train to arrive. America, you are so generous…but let’s give these people what they need,” Bono began his speech from the stage.

He continued that next week will be two years since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and tried to destroy the hard-won freedoms of the Ukrainian people:

• “Next will be Poland, next will be Lithuania, East Germany. Who knows where this person will end up or not. For these people, freedom is not just a word in a song.
• For these people, freedom is the most important word in the world, so important that Ukrainians fight and die for it. And this is so important that Oleksiy Navalny decided to give it up.”

Nalvanis, Nalvanis

Bono then urged the crowd to join him in chanting Nalwania’s name.

• “It seems that Putin will never, ever say his name.
• So I thought tonight people who believe in freedom should say his name. Not just to remember, but to say,” said the musician, while the hall repeated “Aleksii Navalny” to the chords of the song “Telelyudny Dom”.

In the past, Bono publicly supported the Russian opposition, writes News.ro. After receiving an invitation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, he and guitarist The Edge performed the song “Stand By Me” in a Kyiv metro station, which became a temporary shelter during the Russian invasion. “President Zelensky invited us to perform in Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and that’s why we came,” – reads the message published on the official Twitter of the U2 group.

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s number one opponent, died on Friday at the age of 47 in a prison in Arctic Yamal, where he had served 19 years. (Photo: Dreamstime.com)