‘We see you,’ Idina Menzel tells Ukrainian girl who sang ‘Let It Go’ from bomb shelter

A Ukrainian girl whose performance of “Let It Go” from her bomb shelter gained her international acclaim also received a shoutout by the singer who made the song famous.

The video of a girl named Amelia has spread across social media since March 3. It shows her surrounded by dozens of other people in a Kyiv bomb shelter, defiantly singing the emotional song from “Frozen” in an impromptu performance.

The woman who recorded the video, Marta Smekhova, said Amelia’s dream has been to sing in front of an audience.

“From the first word ... came complete silence,” Smekhova said. “Everyone put their business aside and listened to a song by this girl who was just beaming light. Even men couldn’t hold back the tears.”

The video has been shared worldwide, with CNN’s Anderson Cooper thanking Amelia for her grace.

Menzel, who voiced Elsa and sang the powerful “Let It Go” in the movie, also praised the young singer.

“We see you,” Menzel said. “We really, really see you.”

More than 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the country during Russia’s invasion, BBC reported, but countless others have stayed behind. Many people, including Amelia and the group she was with, are hunkering down in bomb shelters hoping to wait out the attacks.

Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine on three fronts early Thursday, Feb. 24, “bombarding cities, towns and villages” as forces advanced toward the capital of Kyiv. Ukrainian forces are putting up a “very determined resistance,” particularly in Kyiv, which is under heavy Russian attack by artillery and cruise missiles, Reuters reported.

Smekhova called out Russians while praising Amelia’s singing.

“You let your children go to the stew, making them into cannon meat,” she said. “And our children radiate light, and even in a raw dark basement it does not blink, but ignites even brighter!”

This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 2:07 PM with the headline "‘We see you,’ Idina Menzel tells Ukrainian girl who sang ‘Let It Go’ from bomb shelter."