KYIV, June 4 ― The message behind Arsen Mirzoyan’s new song My Country is simple ― stay in Ukraine and fight back.

"I’m not afraid anymore. I don’t exist without you. If it’s my country, then it’s mine,” goes the song.

The lyrics are personal for the Ukrainian rock singer, who wrote the ballad while manning the frontlines for weeks during the battle for Kyiv in the early days of the Russian invasion.

"My Country is about my decision to stay and fight,” he tells AFP, as he flips through photos on his phone from his time at the front, including ones of dead bodies, destroyed Russian equipment and impromptu performances.

"I wanted to strengthen the feelings for those who hesitated to remain or flee. I wanted to support those who decided to stay in Kyiv,” he adds.

As Ukrainian forces battle the Russian invaders, the country’s musicians have begun to channel seething anger and an outpouring of patriotism into stirring war hymns.

Music has played a vital role in rallying support for the country’s fight against Russia. There is a popular ode to Turkish-made drones, and trance remixes of folk songs play over Tik Tok videos of Russian tanks being obliterated.

Artists across a range of genres are contributing ― including black metal groups, rappers, rock bands, and most notably the Kalush Orchestra, who spoke of the war’s destruction onstage at Eurovision.

"The victory is very important for Ukraine, especially this year,” Kalush’s frontman Oleg Psiuk told reporters after winning the competition.

‘We Need Strength’

Other musicians have laid down their instruments and taken up arms, including the rock outfit Antytila.

The group briefly returned to Kyiv in May to perform a cover of Stand by Me with U2’s Bono and The Edge during a concert in a metro station.

On the airwaves, radio stations that once broadcast top 40 hits are now pumping out a slew of pro-Ukrainian songs praising the bravery of the country’s defenders and ballads about the heartbreak caused by the war’s brutal toll.

"We understand that this is a long war and we need strength,” says Julia Vinnychenko, a programming director at NRJ Radio in Kyiv.

Before the war, the station’s slogan was "hit music only”, but it has since changed to "in the mood for victory”.

"All the songs are connected with war in one way or another. It’s about different moods