Topless women protesting the Ukraine war are detained for vandalizing sculpture near UN building

GENEVA (AP) — At least three feminist activists were detained on Friday after vandalizing a monument outside the United Nations complex in Geneva to protest Russia's war against Ukraine and what they see as the U.N.'s failure to stop the conflict.

Two topless women with the group FEMEN, which is known for its provocative protests, used a chainsaw to cut into the wooden sculpture known as the “Broken Chair.”

One woman with white flowers in her hair left several large gashes in a leg of the sculpture, a 12-meter (40-foot) tall giant chair with a broken leg. The artwork symbolizes the dismemberment caused by land mines and is a call to ban the devastating weapons, which have also been used in the war in Ukraine.

The two women wore bands in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag on their legs. They had words including “stop mines” and “F—- russia” painted on their bare chests and backs in near-freezing temperatures, and shouted expletives repeatedly against the United Nations and Russia.

They declined to speak to reporters afterward.

At least three women — including a colleague of the two demonstrators — were later detained by police officers in three cars.

“The U.N. was created to ensure peace, but its failure to stop the aggressor only adds to the tragedy of symbols such as the Broken Chair, a reminder of the human suffering caused by anti-personnel mines," a statement from the group read.

The group called for the expulsion of Russia from the United Nations over its war in Ukraine, which involved a full-scale invasion in Feb. 2022.

"Ukraine has become a victim of betrayal and military aggression, and the world cannot cover itself with monuments, remaining indifferent while we are being destroyed,” it said.

Activists of the feminist group Femen protest to support Ukraine and to demand Russia's expulsion from the UN, under the 'Broken Chair' Monument on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Activists of the feminist group Femen protest to support Ukraine and to demand Russia's expulsion from the UN, under the 'Broken Chair' Monument on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Activists of the feminist group Femen protest to support Ukraine and to demand Russia's expulsion from the UN, under the 'Broken Chair' Monument on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

EDS NOTE: NUDITY - Activists of the feminist group Femen protest to support Ukraine and to demand Russia's expulsion from the UN, under the 'Broken Chair' Monument on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

MILAN (AP) — Crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli will be among the headline performers for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 6, joining the previously announced pop diva Mariah Carey, organizers said Sunday.

The opening ceremony will be centered in Milan’s landmark San Siro soccer stadium, featuring the Parade of Athletes and entertainment over the course of the three-hour spectacle that is expected to be the most widely viewed moment of the Games.

Reflecting the Milan Cortina Games' status as the most spread-out Olympics in history, elements of the opening ceremony will also be conducted in three other locations, allowing athletes from all far-flung disciplines to participate. Moments will be beamed to the televised audience from Cortina in the heart of the Dolomite mountains, Livigno in the Italian Alps as well as Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.

The ceremony will also include a tribute to the late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at the age of 91. Armani has long designed the Italian team’s Olympic uniforms, and his legacy as one of the founders of Italian ready-to-wear is tightly tied to Milan, where he left his mark with the Armani theater, Silos museum and sponsorship of the EA7 Emporio Armani Milano basketball team.

Bocelli, a classically trained singer whose recordings include classical and pop music, has performed for the coronation of King Charles III and for the 75th anniversary of the Italian Constitution in Rome. In a career-spanning release titled “Duets” (30th Anniversary ), Bocelli sings in Italian, English, French and Spanish, collaborating with musicians ranging from Karol G to Chris Stapleton.

He will appear at the Olympic ceremony during a break from a world tour, according to his official calendar, traveling the next day to perform at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 7, followed by six other U.S. dates.

Bocelli’s performance “will constitute one of the most iconic moments of the event, uniting the spectacle with the essence of Olympic values,’’ organizers said in a statement, adding that Bocelli’s inclusion will “contribute a contemporary and global tone to the narrative.’’

Details about the ceremony, which is being produced by Marco Balich, a veteran of more than a dozen Olympic ceremonies, have been trickling out over recent months.

Carey, the first international star named to perform at San Siro, adds some American pop-star pedigree to the opening event. The six-time Grammy award winner announced her participation in an Instagram post saying, “Ci vediamo a Milano,’’ Italian for “See you in Milan.”

Italian actors Sabrina Impacciatore, who appeared in the second season of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” and Matilde De Angelis, who starred in the Netflix series “The Law According to Lydia Poet,’’ will also participate in the opening ceremony, organizers have announced.

A crowd of 60,000 spectators is expected with millions more watching on television.

Internationally acclaimed ballet star Roberto Bolle will headline the closing ceremony, which is slated for Verona’s ancient Roman Arena on Feb. 22.

FILE - Singer Andrea Bocelli performs during the draw for the 2026 soccer World Cup at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)