Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks has penned an emotive post about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine saying “my heart is broken”.
Ukraine has officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia and declared martial law after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation on February 24.
In a note on Instagram, Nicks shared her support for the Ukraine in a post where she shared an anecdote about a friend who was fleeing the conflict.
Nicks wrote: “At 4am this morning me and a friend sent a message to a lady in Ukraine who sent us a beautiful hand painted box – to thank her again and check up on her after watching the news all night – she immediately wrote back that she was home and still fine…
“At 4:45am she wrote us back that she was now ‘just trying to escape’; that changed everything. Now I know someone, an innocent person, who is having her freedom taken from her. I have been crying ever since. My mom said to me after 9-11 – don’t forget what your father and I were fighting for; don’t forget it…(I am glad she isn’t here to see this).
“This is Hitler coming back to haunt us. In one evening – until now, an entire sovereign country has been full on invaded. How dare he. My heart is broken for our new friend – and for people of Ukraine – I am so, so sorry. Love and prayers for them.”
Since Nicks’ post yesterday (February 25), the death toll in Ukraine has risen to 198 according to the Ukrainian Health Ministry (via The Guardian). It’s being reported by the Interfax news agency that 1115 people have now also been injured.
Troops from Russia crossed the Crimea border into Ukraine on Thursday, after President Vladimir Putin gave the order for his invasion to begin.
The actions of Putin, who has claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine and that his country’s actions amount to a “special military operation”, have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe.
US President Joe Biden has pledged “severe” sanctions on Russia, saying in a statement that Ukraine is “suffering an unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces” and that “Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering”.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the outbreak of conflict in the country was a “catastrophe for our continent”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
Reactions to the situation in Ukraine from prominent figures in the worlds of music, entertainment and politics have been posted on social media, with the likes of Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, Miley Cyrus, Yungblud, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Taika Waititi and Amanda Palmer all speaking out in support of Ukraine.
Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has cancelled a series of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Russia has also been removed from the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.
The country, which has a population of 44million people, borders both Russia and the European Union. As the BBC reports, Russia has long resisted Ukraine’s move towards embracing European institutions like NATO and the EU.
Putin is now demanding guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join NATO, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.
You can donate here to the Red Cross to help those affected by the conflict.
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