Among the surprises of the evening during the Grammy Awards was the virtual presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky through a video message pre-recorded from a bunker in Kiev.
The Ukrainian leader through his extremely emotional and touching speech gave his message amid the constant attacks of Russia against his country where he said:
“War. What is the opposite of music? The silence of ruined cities and people killed.
Our kids draw flying rockets, not stars falling from the sky. Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children have died and we will never see them drawing. Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning to the bomb shelters, but they are alive. Our loved ones do not know if we will be together again. War does not let us choose who will survive and who will remain in eternal silence. Our musicians wear harnesses instead of costumes. They sing to the wounded in hospitals. Even for those who can not hear them. But the music will penetrate anyway. We defend our freedom. To live. To love. On our soil, we are fighting Russia, which brings terrible silence with its bombs. Take away the silence with your music. Tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on social media and television. But not silence. “
His message was part of the global citizen “stand up for Ukraine” campaign, which calls on all people to raise awareness about the war on every social network and television. John Legend and three other Ukrainian artists performed at the end of the speech, accompanied by singing and playing the piano.
