"I knew for sure I needed to do something"

Musicians often get it in the neck for "dabbling" in politics - unfairly so, largely, though it's true that some clearly have ulterior motives (namely, raising their own status and boosting sales) in publicly and vocally embracing a particular cause. But there's no room for head-in-the-sand "it's-all-about-the-music-maaaan" types in Ukraine at the moment, and also no accusations of cynical opportunism on the part of artists. On the contrary, taking action is not a choice but an imperative - a matter of urgency and of life and death.

In this BBC article, Mark Savage has reported on the various ways in which Ukrainian musicians are doing what they can  - whether that's using their public profile and various social media platforms to disseminate information to their fans (many of whom are Russian), organising fundraising tours, setting up charities, assisting those displaced by the conflict and in some cases taking up arms themselves.