U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken performed Neil Young’s song “Rockin’ in the Free World” at a local bar in Kyiv while on a surprise visit to Ukraine, video shows.
As tensions between Russia and Ukraine have continued, Blinken made a surprise visit to the European country Tuesday and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky following his landing in Kyiv, according to The New York Times. Later in the day, Blinken was captured on a C-SPAN video at one of the city’s bars watching a local band called Diktat play.
Roughly seven minutes into the band’s set, the lead singer announces Blinken onto the stage calling him “the biggest fan of Ukraine.” As the U.S. secretary of state could be seen walking onto the stage the crowd and band cheer for him. (RELATED: Biden Admin Announces $400 Million In New Military Aid For Ukraine)
“Listen, I know this is a really, really difficult time. Your soldiers, your citizens — particularly in the northeast in Kharkiv — are suffering tremendously. But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you [and] so much of the world is with you. They’re fighting not just for Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you too,” Blinked told the crowd before performing.
During Blinken’s meeting with Zelensky, the Ukrainian president reportedly thanked the U.S. secretary of state several times for the recent approval of additional aid to Ukraine.
Last month, President Joe Biden approved a $60 billion package for the European country as part of an additional foreign aid deal for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. While many Republicans called out the funding for Ukraine, the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill. Following the passage of the bill experts told the Daily Caller Foundation they believe the additional funds are unlikely to help Ukraine’s war against Russia.
A former White House senior communications advisor and National Security Council official told the DCNF that while the funds “should be helpful for a period of time,” it is “hard to imagine it will prompt a turning point in the war.”