Kyiv: Singer Ellie Goulding meets Zelenskyy amidst raging war, expresses solidarity

Ellie Goulding, a British singer-songwriter, recently visited Ukraine as a guest of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena Zelenska. In a lengthy Instagram post on July 24, she opened out about her "emotional journey". The 35-year-old singer described her meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena in the post, praising the "courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people."

Goulding wrote, "This weekend I travelled as a guest of President Zelensky and the first lady, Olena Zelenska to Kyiv to speak at the First Ladies Summit (and sing a little, somehow while I was there I learnt a beautiful and powerful song in Ukrainian, “Chervona Kalyna", a song of resistance). It has been one of the greatest honours. I was determined to be there in person to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the Ukranian People. I was inspired by a number of people, but particularly a young #fridaysforfuture climate activist @ilyess_ek who I met at the Nature and Climate talks in Stockholm a few weeks ago...."

While attending a summit in the war-torn country, the celebrity was also able to play a "beautiful and powerful song in Ukrainian". The singer talked up about being inspired by climate campaigners in the country while sharing photographs of herself being paraded around by President Zelenskyy. Reflecting on her journey, the celebrity ended with a message of solidarity for the nation under siege.

Russia-Ukraine War

Meanwhile, local authorities said that Russian forces have been attacking the Odessa region, targeting residential buildings in coastal communities in the early hours of July 26. There have also been reports of Russian bombardment in the city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.

"A massive missile strike was launched in the south of Ukraine from the direction of the Black Sea, including with the use of aviation," Olexander Senkevich, the leader of the municipal council, said, The Guardian reported.

A residential neighbourhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was also apparently struck on the morning of July 26. Further, the mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, stated that Russian forces attacked the city centre, according to The Guardian.

Image: Instagram/@elliegoulding