Ellie Goulding flew to war-torn Ukraine over the weekend to speak at the First Ladies Summit as the guest of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, Olena.
Sharing an emotionally charged Instagram post, the English singer explained how she ended up in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for the event.
Ellie uploaded a photo of herself talking to President Zelenskyy, with both beaming at each other in the snap, as well as other images from her visit. In the lengthy caption, she explained how she sang the "beautiful and powerful" Ukrainian tune Chervona Kalyna, a "song of resistance", in addition to her speech.
"It has been one of the greatest honours," she somberly wrote. "I was determined to be there in person to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the Ukranian People (sic). 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. Traumatised by the invasion of his country he nevertheless showed up at the UN talks determined to carry on his work."
She went on to share that through her role as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), she is constantly reminded of the important work being done by Ukrainian scientists and experts.
Finishing her post, the 35-year-old marvelled at the resistance of the country and its people in the face of the Russian attacks.
"I can’t tell you what an emotional journey this has been. There’s too much to put into words right now but I stand in solidarity, awe and respect with the people of Ukraine," she concluded to her 14 million followers.
