Holly Willoughby has asked how she can explain the Ukraine crisis to her children, as she and other stars express their horror over the invasion from Russia.
Overnight, Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has endured ‘horrific rocket strikes’ from Russian forces, in an attack that has been compared to when the country was targeted by Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
Thousands of refugees have fled Ukraine and entered neighbouring countries in the hope of finding safety, with it being reported that 137 people were killed on the first day of the attacks led by President Vladimir Putin.
In a post shared on Instagram, This Morning presenter Willoughby uploaded a photo showing two tanks, one of which had its main gun pointed close to the camera as a group of soldiers sat on the second.
For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live
In her caption, the 41-year-old, who has three children, questioned how she can go about explaining the Ukraine crisis to her kids, who are seven, 10 and 12 years old.
‘How do I explain this to my children… I was asked questions last night I didn’t have the answers for…’ she wrote, alongside a broken heart emoji.
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Hypnotherapist, psychotherapist and mentor Tania Taylor emphasised the importance of ‘active listening’ when speaking to children about the Ukraine crisis, making sure that adults are paying full attention to youngsters when they are asking questions.
‘Listen to what they’re asking, and don’t give more information than they are asking for. We humans have a habit of oversharing, this is a situation when that’s not necessarily helpful,’ she said.
Several celebrities have spoken out to post messages of solidarity with Ukraine, including Morbius actor Jared Leto, who urged his family and friends caught up in the ‘devastating’ conflict to stay ‘as safe as you can’.
‘To my friends and family in Ukraine – my heart breaks that this conflict has escalated in such a devastating way,’ he said, sharing a large group photo.
She continued: ‘No child, wherever they are born, grow up or live, should know violence and the atrocities of conflict.
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‘Millions of children in Ukraine were woken up today in the middle of the night by the sound of explosions. They should be our priority.’
Avengers star Mark Ruffalo wrote on Twitter that he was ‘sending love and good prayers to all innocent people of Ukraine and Russia and Europe who are caught up in this sad corrosive moment of asymmetrical violence and destruction, especially the young people’.
He added: ‘You have done nothing to deserve this perversion and obscene spectacle.’
On Instagram, musician Annie Lennox said: ‘What kind of “price” must ordinary people pay for the nightmarish madness and brutality of “invasion” and “warfare”?’
Writing that she has ‘had the privilege of living in a “peaceful” context” since she was born, having been born a decade after the Second World War, stating: ‘I don’t take this for granted in any way and therefore find the notion of ‘war’ to be unacceptable repugnant barbarism. Sorry friendsI just had to express this.’
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