Andriy Kravchenko shares how his parents' life under occupation has marked the beginning of his career

Ukrainian singer Andriy Kravchenko, who has recently become a nationwide star, has spoken out on how the full-scale war has affected his career for the first time. According to the artist, at the beginning of the invasion, his parents found themselves in the occupied Chernihiv region, and it was then that strong anxiety and a conversation with his mother became the impetus for writing his first song.

The 34-year-old singer told about this in an interview for a YouTube channel. The celebrity's parents lived under Russian occupation for about 1.5 months.

"I started writing music and lyrics right with the beginning of the full-scale invasion. I was very worried about Ukraine, about the people. My parents were the impetus for writing my first song, especially my mom. There was a story that we can talk about with irony now, but it wasn't funny then. A woman in her 60s climbed up on the roof to catch a mobile network to talk to her son. As the tanks drove down the street, she shouted, 'Andriy, write down the lyrics to the song 'Children of War'. She told me the first four or five lines, and then the connection was lost. Eventually we reconnected, and then I realized that I had to sit down and write a song quickly as no one knew if we would get back in touch again. At that time, everyone was very worried about whether they would survive at all," the singer said.

According to Andriy Kravchenko, his parents remained incredibly strong. They did not let the people who lived in the same house with them and were responsible for them panic. As soon as someone started to give in to emotions, the artist's mom and dad would give them work, such as washing dishes or sweeping the yard. However, when enemy tanks appeared on the street, everyone quickly went inside.

The singer recalled that his father was constantly swearing at Russian terrorists when they were shelling at night and disturbing his sleeping. Andriy Kravchenko admitted that the stories of children's lives impressed him the most during the occupation.

"There are plenty of sweets and candy now. You can buy anything you want. But back then, my nephew, their grandson, and other relatives with small children were in my parents' house. My mother had a small stash from which she gave out one candy to the children every day. They would eat the candy first and then lick the wrappers. Nowadays, this is shocking to hear," the performer said.

Andriy Kravchenko said that immediately after the liberation of Chernihiv region from the invaders, he went to his relatives and bought a lot of food that they could not have. The celebrity recalled that when he saw his parents after the occupation, they aged a lot more.

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