CNN reporter Anderson Cooper shared a sweet moment with Ukrainian children who pulled funny faces at him live on air.
In a clip that has since been widely shared on social media, the host was chatting to Olena Gnes - a young mother of three living in Kyiv - about her experience in the war-torn capital. However, the serious interview was derailed when Gnes's kids couldn't help getting involved.
Last month, Russian troops invaded Ukraine, encircling the capital city and bombarding residential areas with intense shelling. Despite the danger, many families have stayed put - including Gnes and her three childen.
The mom kicked off her interview with Anderson by saying they were glad to see him. "Well hello Anderson, we're happy to see you," she said via video link, before going on to describe the situation in Kyiv.
"We're still alive. We're fine, but today is one of the most difficult days for me personally. We are... in a curfew so we stayed all the time in the basement and most of the time Isiah was reading and following the news and the news is pretty bad, especially what happened in Mariupol."
While Gnes was speaking, her youngest child sat on her lap while the other two gathered around the camera. Cooper went on to ask her about conditions in Kyiv, and she spoke about the difficulties getting supermarket supplies, the curfew and the constant threat of bombing that residents were facing.
But despite the dark subject of the interview, two of the kids couldn't resist the chance to pull some very funny faces at Cooper. They bared their teeth and roared at the camera while Cooper fought back a smile.
But the reporter just couldn't stop himself from smiling at the kids while their mother was speaking. When she had finished, he joked with the children, saying: "Oh, they're scary, they're scary tigers!"
If you would like to know how you can support the Ukrainian people at this time, click HERE to find a list of organizations and groups dedicated to helping those affected by this crisis.
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