Ozzy Osbourne Dies at 76 — Remembering His Support for Ukraine

July 22 marked a heartbreaking day for the global music community as the family of Ozzy Osbourne, frontman of Black Sabbath and a pillar of rock history, confirmed his passing at age 76, The Gaze reports.

Ozzy Osbourne leaves behind more than just a towering musical legacy. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he became one of the rare global music icons to take a clear and vocal stance in support of Ukraine.

“We’re standing up for Ukraine. We’re asking everyone who sees this to amplify this call — post yourself, share a video from an activist, or share this video — so that our world leaders know we need the world to stand up for Ukraine and support refugees,” Osbourne wrote in 2022.

In April 2022, Ozzy and his wife Sharon offered to host Ukrainian refugee families in their Buckinghamshire home in the UK. That same year, the rock legend released his final studio album, Patient Number 9, and dedicated its special vinyl edition — colored in blue and yellow — to Ukraine. 

Priced at $38, all proceeds were donated to the humanitarian group Third Wave Volunteers, an organization his son Jack had supported by helping evacuate children with disabilities from Ukraine.

“Ukraine is in desperate need of help right now, especially since the war started, so it’s only right to work on such an important cause,” Osbourne wrote at the time.

Osbourne had faced several health struggles in recent years, including Parkinson’s disease and complications from a severe fall in 2019, which eventually forced him to retire from touring. 

Still, just weeks before his death, he performed a farewell concert in Birmingham, reuniting on stage with his bandmates from Black Sabbath for a massive nine-hour show.