Orlando Bloom has travelled to Ukraine and met with the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Orlando Bloom has been on a three-day trip to Ukraine
The 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star headed to the war-torn cities of Kyiv, Irpin and Demydiv for a three-day trip as part of his role as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations' children's organisation UNICEF and met with youngsters who have been impacted by the Russian invasion before scheduling a chat with the Ukrainian leader.
During their meeting, Bloom told Zelensky: "To see the children, to see in their eyes, its palpable the anxiety and yet the strength of the Ukrainian people is something that is really awe inspiring. And of course your messaging is the reason for that. So it’s remarkable to see how you are holding this country."
He also gave the president a message from his own mother, telling him: "Your defeat would be the defeat of hope, hence you must win."
Zelensky later addressed the meeting in his nightly video message, saying: "We all know what this aggression has brought and how full-scale the world's efforts must be to stop it, to rebuild Ukraine after the war.
"During the meeting, we discussed humanitarian aid projects, issues of reconstruction focused specifically on the interests of children. @unicef and our teams will work in several directions, bring victory closer and return a happy childhood to Ukrainian children. He knows what this aggression has brought, how full-scale the world's efforts must be to stop it, to restore Ukraine after the war."
During the trip, Bloom visited a school in the town of Irpin where UNICEF officials have helped convert the basement into a bomb shelter to provide the children with a safe place to continue their studies whenever air raid sirens go off.
He also described how the war has been impacting children's education, saying: "Some of the children I have met – such as 10-year-old Hanna from Volnovakha, Donetsk region – have had limited access to face-to-face education for more than a year,.
"While UNICEF is helping ensure that children are able to learn online, they are still missing out on the crucial experience of interacting with their classmates and teachers. Especially for younger children, these interactions are key for their emotional and cognitive development and cannot be replaced by a computer screen."
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