Putin has claimed that Russia does not intend to occupy Ukraine and that his country’s actions amount to a “special military operation”, have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe. On February 26  John took to Instagram to post an image of Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag, showing his support for those affected by the attacks. The statement read as follows:

“For over 20 years, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has supported some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine with access to HIV services and care, as part of our commitment to communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.”

He then continues “We are heartbroken and appalled to see this conflict unfold and our hearts are with the people of Ukraine who do not deserve to live through this nightmare,” he continued. “During these devastating times, we stand for an end to the violence and suffering in Ukraine so that life-saving services and humanitarian aid can reach those desperately in need.”

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The singer’s AIDS foundation charity was first established in 1992 and supports HIV prevention along with providing education programs and support services for those living with the condition.

Other prominent figures from music to entertainment and politics have also been reacting to the current situation in Ukraine with many posting on social media. Some of these people include the likes of Foals’ Yannis Philippakis, Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes, Franz Ferdinand‘s Alex Kapranos, Yungblud, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Taika Waititi and Amanda Palmer all speaking out in support of Ukraine.

Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks has also made an emotive post about the developing conflict saying “my heart is broken”, while Madonna voiced her support for Ukraine with a fanmade video set to a remix of her 2005 song “Sorry”. Even some in Russia itself have protested against the invasion as Russian rapper Oxxxymiron has cancelled a series of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg in protest.

Ukraine, has a population of 44million people and borders both Russia and the European Union. As reported by the BBC Russia has long tried to prevent Ukraine’s move towards embracing European institutions like NATO and the EU. Putin is now demanding guarantees from the West and Ukraine that it will not join NATO, a defensive alliance of 30 countries, and that Ukraine demilitarise and become a neutral state.

For anyone wishing to help those affected by the conflict you can go here to donate to the Red Cross.

Russian media outlets have shamed the video for the ‘Let Me Entertain You’ singer’s new single as ‘racist’ and even threatened he will ‘never’ be able to perform in the country again.

The song, the first from his new album Heavy Entertainment Show, features a sample from Prokofiev’s Dance Of The Knights, along with lyrics about a ruler who “alleviates the cash from a whole entire nation” to “build my own space station”. The video sees Williams, 42, sing about being a “modern Rasputin” while backing dancers dressed as maids and ballerinas twirl around him. He also attempts a fake Russian accent.

Robbie has recently said to the BBC that he had actually toned down both the song and its video to avoid causing offence. He had also said to the Sun that worked hard on the lyrics for fear of offending fans. “There’s 147 million people in Russia and I don’t want to upset them in any way and I don’t know what kind of sense of humour they’ve got.”

After the video was released, people took to Twitter to criticise and question Williams. One user, @martinquibell wrote: “Just heard the new Robbie Williams song Russian where he tries the accent… Isn’t that racist?” Another, @Liv_g_c wrote: “Really good to see the degrading stereotyping of Russian women being spread by Robbie Williams’ new track’s video.”

Not all Russians responded negatively to the song, however. Journalist Maria Baronova, described Robbie as “courageous” in a Facebook post, and described his rhyming of “Rasputin” with “Louboutin” as “generally brilliant”.

Heavy Entertainment Show is Robbie’s 11th studio album as a solo artist since leaving boyband Take That in 1995. He has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and scored seven number one singles in the UK.