Ukrainian band Antytila have collaborated with singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran to record and release a charity single and music video while fighting Russia's invasion.
"The sirens interrupted our sleep, grabbed in two suitcases everything that is in the past, then go!" sings frontman Taras Topolia on the group's remix of Sheeran's hit single 2step.
Topolia added a new verse to the song, and created a video partly filmed amid the war with Russia.
He said although it was dangerous, it made for a dramatic scene.
"We were doing our job. And like driving and between the positions of our battle in the Ukrainian army and just stopped on the road and took the GoPro camera and shot this video," he said.
"It took maybe 10 or 15 minutes."
As a father of three, Topolia wanted the music video — which shows a young family fleeing the war by car — to tell the story of the "painful and difficult situation" for Ukrainian children.
"Ukraine is not just only destruction and horrible war," he said.
"Ukraine is also talented, talented people. And those kids that now have no possibility to dance, to sing, to increase their skills, to play in the playgrounds."
Antytila formed a friendship with Sheeran via social media, after they tweeted at the British musician ahead of his headlining performance at Concert for Ukraine in the UK in April.
While the Ukrainian band weren't allowed to perform remotely at the event, Sheeran invited Antytila to team up with him on 2step.
"Thanks so much for doing this Antytila, I love it x," Sheeran said following the remix's release.
Topolia said that continuing with music while fighting in the war was "very hard".
"I push myself to do something creative because the situation is not so creative," he said.
"The situation is terrible. But I believe, I know that, what I'm doing now is just collecting the emotions inside.
"When we will get the victory, all those emotions will be spread up by the songs, by the lyrics. And I will share it with all over the world.
"Emotions of happiness, of fresh start.
"Emotions of new country, of new future that we will build together united."
Antytila said all royalties from the song and streams of its music video on YouTube would go to the charity Music Saves UA humanitarian campaign, created by the Ukrainian Association of Music Events.
ABC/AP
