Orlando Bloom supports children affected by war in Ukraine and visits Zelensky in UNICEF role

As the Ukraine/Russia conflict has surpassed a year since Russian troops invaded parts of the Donbas and the most recent concerns of Russia moving tactical nuclear weapons into neighbouring Belarus, the outpouring of support for the country has yet to waver. With the likes of POTUS Joe Biden and Hollywood star/activist Sean Penn having been spotted in the country to help with efforts, both diplomatically and through aid relief, one Orlando Bloom has now been spotted in conversation with president Volodymyr Zelensky. 

In his role as a goodwill ambassador for children’s charity UNICEF, Bloom visited a children’s centre in Kyiv on Sunday (26 March), as at least 465 children have been killed in the 13-month long war Russia waged against its neighbour, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office. The trip marks the first time the Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean actor has visited Ukraine since 2016, with his focus during this visit checking in one of the many Spilno centres spread throughout Ukraine.

Taking to Instagram, Bloom told his 6,702,425 followers “I would have never expected the war to have escalated throughout the country since I was there. But today, I was fortunate to hear children's laughter at a UNICEF-supported Spilno centre, a safe, warm, and nurturing space for children to play, learn and receive psychosocial support."

As part of the wider Spilno Project, the Spilno centres that Bloom refers to are spread out across the Ukraine, offering support for displaced children and their families, with more than half a million children and their caregivers having visited one in the past year. The overarching premise of the Spilno Project is to strengthen social support for families with children and enhance social cohesion, originally as part of the COVID-19 pandemic but not, crucially, for those affected by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

"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," Zelensky said in his nightly video address after meeting Bloom.

Orlando Bloom was appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2009, in recognition of his commitment to the rights of children around the world. He is well known for his roles in the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the Academy Award–winning trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Bloom has supported UNICEF since 2007, when he first visited schools in the remote districts of Kaski and Chitwan, two of the poorest areas of Nepal. He has since travelled extensively with UNICEF to countries including Bangladesh, Jordan, Liberia, Niger and, as mentioned, the Ukraine.