The world media responds to the incident during the concert of The Killers at the Black Sea Arena.

“The Killers have apologised after lead singer Brandon Flowers was booed for bringing a Russian fan onstage at a concert in Georgia – the former Soviet state that Russia invaded in 2008 – and urging the crowd to think of each other as “brothers and sisters”. Towards the end of the concert, held on Tuesday night in Batumi, Georgia, the band invited a man to play drums with them during the song For Reasons Unknown.

“We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian”, Flowers can be heard telling the crowd, who responded with a mixture of cheers and boos. “You OK with a Russian coming up here?” After the song, Flowers addressed the incident to further boos from concertgoers. “You can’t recognise if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother?” he asked. “We all separate on the borders of our countries? … Am I not your brother, being from America?”

Flowers continued, urging the audience to celebrate “that we’re here together”. “I don’t want it to turn ugly. And I see you as my brothers and my sisters”.

Many people reportedly left the stadium in protest, though according to the user-sourced concert database Setlist.fm, The Killers played through to the end of their show”, - writes The Guardian.

“The Killers have apologised after frontman Brandon Flowers invited a Russian fan on stage during a concert in Georgia to play drums on a song. He told the crowd to treat the Russian fan as their “brother”, drawing boos and walk-outs from parts of the arena.

The backlash from sections of the crowd occurred after Flowers - as is now tradition at their gigs - invited a fan up on stage to play drums with them on their track Reasons Unknown, towards the end of Tuesday"s concert at the Black Sea Arena, close to the city of Batumi.

“We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?” Flowers was heard asking the audience. Fan footage recorded at the concert shows the crowd responded to his question with a mixture of boos and cheers.

The singer later addressed the issue, asking fans: “You can’t recognise if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother? “We all separate on the borders of our countries? Am I not your brother, being from America?”

Georgian public opinion on the ongoing war is overwhelmingly pro-Ukrainian”, - writes BBC.