'Piano Man' travels 5000 miles to play his piano for Ukrainian refugees at the border

Davide Martello traveled from Germany to play music to welcome Ukrainians at the Polish border. Martello, known as the "Piano Man," played for the refugees, played with them and even watched them play over the past few days at the border where Ukrainians are fleeing war. Martello was filmed talking to the refugees and stood in solidarity with them at Korczowa, Poland, following the invasion of their country by Putin. A video filmed by Reuters showed the adults and young children take turns to play alongside Martello, reported The Independent. He could also be seen guiding a few people who played on his video in a wholesome move.

This is not the first time Martello is playing his piano in zones of conflict. Martello is known for the same and played the piano calling for peace from Turkey in 2013 to Paris in 2015. Among the many songs he played were rock band Queen’s ‘We are the Champions.’ He traveled in a trailer and drove 17 hours straight to reach the Poland border. "That is my purpose, to bring peace through music," he said. 

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and this has seen more than a million people displaced over the past two weeks. “In just seven days we have witnessed the exodus of one million refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR). The majority of them leaving the country are women and children due to the Ukraine President declaring martial law that banned men between the ages of 18-60 to leave the country in the wake of the Russian invasion.

People all over Europe are welcoming refugees from Ukraine following the attack by Russia. People are turning up at railways stations to welcome refugees and invite them to stay at their homes. As we reported, refugees who traveled to Germany's Berlin's central railway station were greeted by kind-hearted Germans. They provided refugees with food and water before inviting them to stay at their homes. Some of the placards read, "Big room. One-three people. Children welcome too! For as long as you want." Another read: "2 adults, 3 children home." One homemade sign read: "Can host two people! Short or long-term." The refugees were also handed sim cards for phones, and met with a team of medical teams, translators and other volunteers.

Similarly, Polish civilians also took the initiative to welcome Ukrainians with locals in the Polish capital of Warsaw advertising roughly 2,500 apartments for refugees to stay in. They have also traveled to reception centers and held homemade signs offering homes, rides, and even jobs. Many also distributed necessities to Ukrainians including food, water, clothes, sleeping bags, shoes, blankets, diapers, toys, sanitary products, battery packs, and cellphone charging cables among other things. 

Trigger warning: Distressing visuals

Talks are still ongoing between Russia and Ukraine but the past few days have seen many civilians getting killed as they tried to escape the city of Kyiv. Civilians were killed after humanitarian corridors were announced sparking outrage. “It’s murder, deliberate murder,” said Zelenskyy addressing the deaths, reported The Guardian.  “Instead of humanitarian corridors, they can only ensure bloody ones.” Zelenskyy reserved strong words to condemn the actions that killed civilians. “They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine. We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war.” The UN security council is expected to hold an emergency meeting soon to discuss the humanitarian crisis.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a developing story, and we’ll update as we learn more. Information is swiftly changing and Upworthy is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency in developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication.