The Rasmus performs on the main stage of the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, on July, 19, 2025. (Instagram / @therasmusofficial)
Ukraine’s largest music event, the Atlas Festival, took place in Kyiv over the weekend. This is the second time the festival has been held during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Once one of the biggest music festivals in Eastern and Central Europe, featuring many international acts, it was downscaled following the start of the all-out war. Most foreign artists avoided the festival amid Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukraine.
The Finnish rock band The Rasmus wasn’t one of them.
The group performed on the main stage on July 19, drawing a massive crowd. It marked the first time a prominent international band performed in Kyiv over the last three and a half years.
“It’s a big honor for us to be here,” said bass guitarist Eero Heinonen. “This isn’t an opportunity that comes to everyone, but we love Ukraine very much. When we received the invitation, we immediately felt that we had to do this — because we want to support the people, support this country, and show that we care.”
When Atlas Festival organizers reached out with an invitation to perform, the band didn’t hesitate, it felt like the right thing to do. The detailed security protocols provided by the organizers added confidence in their decision.
The venue for the festival was chosen with safety in mind at the courtyard of a Kyiv shopping mall that has an underground parking lot that serves as a shelter capable of accommodating 30,000 people. In the event of an air raid siren, the artists would be required to pause their performance and lead the audience into the shelter.
That was the case on the festival’s opening day, when the crowd was evacuated twice due to the threat of incoming Russian ballistic missiles. Once the air raid finished, the audience returned, and the music resumed.
“It’s incredible how different the situation is compared to a normal festival,” lead singer Lauri Ylönen said. “But I’m glad that it works out.”
The Rasmus arrived in Kyiv on July 18 and immediately experienced the reality of life under threat. While visiting Independence Square to honor the memory of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, the band heard an air raid alert on their way back and sought shelter. What struck them most was the calm reaction of locals, who carried on as if it were just another day.
The alert in Kyiv lasted until around 5 a.m., and rather than returning to their hotel during the night, the band chose to stay in the shelter. That night, more than 300 drones and over 30 missiles were launched at multiple cities across Ukraine.
“It was scary, I gotta say — to wake up to the alarm,” Ylönen said. “For us, it’s all shocking and new — we’ve only been here for 37 hours or so. But for you guys, it’s normal life. It’s been everyday life for years already. So I understand why you sort of get used to it.”
For the second year in a row, the music festival has also served as a charitable event, raising funds for the Armed Forces through ticket sales, donations, and auctions. This year, the goal is to collect at least 100 million hryvnias (around $2.4 million) for the Dronefall project — an initiative aimed at buying interceptor drones that would protect Kyiv skies.
The Rasmus joined a parallel fundraiser by the Good Donations charity foundation, which partnered with the festival to support Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. The artists visited the hospital in person, meeting with doctors and young patients.
The Rasmus and Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra on the main stage of the Atlas Festival in Kyiv, on July, 19, 2025. (Instagram / @therasmusofficial)
Okhmatdyt, Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, was severely damaged in a Russian missile strike, on July 8, 2024, which killed two adults and injured at least 34 people. At the time of the attack, 627 children were receiving treatment at the facility.
“It was a very emotional visit, a very eye-opening visit,” Ylönen said. “That hospital was bombed just a year ago — which feels very, very wrong. But we want to raise money for this hospital and other children’s hospitals in Ukraine.
We met a couple of the kids and hear their stories, but we also met the doctors. These guys are real — real superheroes. How they sacrifice their own health for these young kids… It’s just incredible.”
The Finnish band has been performing in Ukraine for nearly 20 years and has built a devoted fanbase. That connection was on full display during their set at Atlas Festival, where the packed venue sang along to every song.
“I feel that Finnish people and Ukrainians are somehow similar in mentality,” said drummer Jarno Lahti. “Especially yesterday and today, we saw how people help and support each other. That’s something fantastic — and something I’ll really remember from this trip.”
