By Maria Caspani

(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday made a shock video look on the music trade’s star-studded Grammy Awards celebration in Las Vegas and appealed to viewers to assist his nation “in any method you may.”

“What’s extra reverse to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed individuals,” mentioned Zelenskiy within the video that launched John Legend’s efficiency of “Free” and featured Ukrainian musicians and a studying by Ukrainian poet Lyuba Yakimchuck.

“Fill the silence together with your music. Fill it at the moment, to inform our story. Help us in any method you may. Any, however not silence,” Zelenskiy, carrying his now trademark olive inexperienced T-shirt, mentioned in English, his voice hoarse.

Warfare broke out in Ukraine over a month in the past after Russian navy forces invaded, displacing tens of millions of civilians and decreasing cities to rubble. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “particular operation”.

Actor-turned-wartime-leader Zelenskiy, 44, has used nightly movies to nice impact at dwelling, usually showing unshaven and carrying a T-shirt, and has additionally beamed his picture on to parliaments world wide.

He has pleaded with allies in speeches on the U.S. Congress, Japanese Nationwide Weight loss plan, British and Australian parliaments and Israeli Knesset, and on Sunday selected an occasion devoted to the common language of music to spur assist for his nation.

“Our musicians put on physique armor as an alternative of tuxedos, they sing to the wounded, in hospitals, even to those that cannot hear them however the music will break by means of,” he mentioned.