Ukrainian trumpeter’s solo national anthem echoes through underground shelter

1 March 2022, 17:28

A solo Ukrainian musician gives a resolute rendition of his national anthem...

Metro stations across Ukraine have been repurposed into underground shelters following Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country. And as major cities across the country experience shelling and airstrikes, residents are being forced to take cover in these stations.

Videos shared across social media have illustrated how Ukrainian people, as they shelter underground, have been using music as a powerful tool for hope and togetherness.

A video shared by journalist Kristina Berdynskykh shows a solo Ukrainian musician playing his country’s national anthem on the trumpet in a repurposed Kyiv metro station.

The station’s acoustic highlights the rough vibrato of the musician, as he plays to the crowd gathered in the shelter. Some hold their hands to their hearts, humming along with the melody, while others film the performance in sombre silence.

Read more: A young Ukrainian pianist played melancholic music in a Kharkiv hotel lobby, as Russian forces advanced

Ukranian man plays country's national anthem in a bomb shelter

The viral video has been viewed almost one million times on the platform.

For journalist Berdynskykh, this was filmed during her fifth night sleeping in the metro station in Ukraine’s capital city. She has slept on the floor of the station every night bar one, when she was able to sleep on a seat in a train carriage.

Read more: ‘Our culture is at stake’: Ukrainians use powerful music to voice their protests as Russia declares war

Music has taken on a comforting and morale-building role in Ukraine as its citizens are forced underground. Earlier this week, footage emerged of people singing and playing guitar and piano in bomb shelters, performing songs of hope.

Reports on the morning of 1 March revealed that Freedom Square had been hit by a Russian missile, causing the Kharkiv opera house and neighbouring Kharkiv Philharmonic concert hall to be engulfed in an explosion of fire.

Members of the global arts community have condemned Russia’s attack on cultural institutions, and Ukrainian scholars have warned of an “unfolding cultural catastrophe”.

Despite the war waging above their heads, Ukraine’s population continues to play and sing music as they shelter, demonstrating their unwavering hope in this time of fear and conflict.