We must keep supporting the Ukrainians

Rod Stewart has weighed in on the clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressing that “we must keep supporting the Ukrainians”.

On Friday (February 28), the US president and his Ukrainian counterpart held a press conference in the White House which descended into a bad-tempered and fiery exchange of words, with Trump claiming that Zelenskyy was “not ready for peace” and “gambling with World War Three”.

Since the meeting, figures including Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have expressed strong solidarity with Zelenskyy, with the former hosting a summit of European leaders in London today (March 2) to discuss how to support Ukraine moving forward.

Zelenskyy himself attended the summit, and now Stewart has posted an image on his Instagram Stories of Starmer and Zelenskyy shaking hands in Downing Street. “Proud to be British,” he wrote. “Well done Starmer in welcoming Zelensky to the number 10.”

Underneath the image, he added: “We must keep supporting the Ukrainians”.

The entertainment world has been reacting to the extraordinary scenes on Friday, with Jack White describing Zelenskyy as a “very courageous man who deserves the support of the world. He has taken on the struggle of his people and his country with valor and honor.”

White went on to say: “A long time from now when history has gotten far past all of these other false leaders and evil opportunists, he will be remembered as a hero and a defender of his people’s freedom in the face of immense opposition. May God bless his path forward and his eventual victory against tyranny.”

Ben Stiller also took to Twitter/X shortly after the disastrous summit to share an emoji of the Ukraine flag.

Thousands have been killed since Russia commenced a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Monday (February 24) marked three years since the war began. In commemoration, U2 shared a message and piano piece in support of Ukraine and President Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian pop-rock band Antytila spoke to NME from the frontline in 2022 and explained how they hoped their music could come as a message of support for those struggling because of the war. Frontman Taras Topolia said: “We’re not just for entertainment – we like to say something important through our music. We try to show people some light and say that everything will be alright, even if it seems hard right now.”

“We try to explain to our fans how to resist and live through dark times, as much as we love to write songs for fun and dancing.”