Orlando Bloom tells Zelensky 'the strength of the Ukrainians is awe-inspiring' ... trends now

British Hollywood star Orlando Bloom travelled to Ukraine this week to meet children and families impacted by Vladimir Putin's on-going invasion, where he described the strength of the country's people as 'awe inspiring'.

In his role as a goodwill ambassador for the UN children's organisation UNICEF, the actor spent three days in the country and visited Kyiv, Irpin and Demydiv.

It was his first trip to Ukraine since 2016, the star of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Lord of the Rings' films said.

While in Kyiv, he met with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. The pair were seen in footage in the capital's presidential palace on Sunday where they discussed humanitarian projects and reconstruction efforts to help the children of Ukraine. 

Bloom told Zelensky that his messaging since the war began was 'reflected in [the Ukrainian people's] courage and determination', and that the 'world was watching' after Putin was charged with war crimes over the deportation of children.

Both men appeared somewhat star struck, embracing and sharing an enthusiastic handshake upon their meeting. Zelensky himself was an actor in Ukraine - playing a teacher who becomes president - before his meteoric political rise.

Since becoming president in 2019 and the invasion launched by Putin in February 2022, Zelensky has become one of the most famous people in the world, making regular appeals on a global stage for support.

'To see the children, to see in their eyes, its palpable the anxiety and yet the strength of the Ukrainian people is something that is really awe inspiring,' he said.

He told Zelensky that Unicef is taking the issue of missing children very seriously 'as the rest of the world is watching' after Putin was charged.

'Of course, he who shall not be mentioned was made a war criminal because of this. And it's so horrific what's going on,' he said.

Zelensky thanked Bloom for visiting the country, describing it as 'strong' in the face of Russia's aggression. He said Ukraine was doing everything it could to bring back the missing children, and that it needed to ensure the infrastructure and facilities are in place to care for them when they are welcomed home.

As of March 26, at least 465 children have been killed in the 13-month long war, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office. 

Russia has been accused of the indiscriminate bombing of civilian sites, while the the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant earlier this month accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine to Russia.

It said there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the crime.

Russian officials have cautioned that any attempt to arrest Putin, Russia's paramount leader since the last day of 1999, would amount to a declaration of war against the world's largest nuclear power. 

'I would have never expected the war to have escalated throughout the country since I was there,' Bloom wrote in a post on Instagram about his visit.

'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.' 

The Spilno centres, spread throughout Ukraine, offer support for displaced children and their families, with more than half a million children and their caregivers having visited one in the past year, according to a UNICEF statement on its website. 

In his own post, Zelensky said: 'We all know what this aggression has brought and how full-scale the world's efforts must be to stop it, to rebuild

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