Irish rock band U2 snuck into Ukraine today and performed an acoustic concert in a bomb shelter.
The band made the announcement on social media as videos surfaced of the performance saying:
“President @ZelenskyyUa invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do. — Bono and The Edge #StandWithUkraine.”
“The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom,” said Bono at one point.
“We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon,” he added.
“It’s some good emotions, that’s all,” a member of the Ukrainian army told a media outlet.
“It’s a strange feeling, like being a child going to first grade,” said a 36-year-old university lecturer, Olesia Bezsmertna, said before the show.
🇺🇦🎙️伝説のロックバンド #U2 のBonoとThe Edgeが #Kiev の地下鉄クレシュチャティク駅で演奏しています。#Ukraine #NoWar #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/hhIZKj90LT
— ぱんく (@runabout2525) May 8, 2022
Jill Biden also snuck into Ukraine and visited with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.
“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Jill Biden said.
“We thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people this war has to stop. And this war has been brutal.” Biden added, “The people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”
Zelenska said:
“First of all, I would like to thank you for a very courageous act.
“Because we understand what it takes for the US first lady to come here during a war when the military actions are taking place every day, where the air sirens are happening every day, even today.
“We all feel your support and we all feel the leadership of the US President but we would like to note that Mother’s Day is a very symbolic day for us because we also feel your love and support during such an important day.”
From CNN:
Biden, who is three days into a four-day visit to Europe to spend time with refugee families in Romania and Slovakia, traveled about 15 miles into western Ukraine from the Slovak border town of Vysne Nemecke to Uzhhorod.
The first lady is the latest high-profile American and the first family member of President Joe Biden to visit the war-torn country in recent weeks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv last month; Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was there last Saturday.
The first lady has spent the last two days in Europe meeting with humanitarian aid organizations and government officials in both Romania and Slovakia, as well as interacting with displaced Ukrainians in both countries, her focus primarily on the health and emotional welfare of women and children.
Más imágenes del concierto improvisado. pic.twitter.com/6VCUB0uKaJ
— AUSTROHÚNGARO (@AUSTROHNGARO2) May 8, 2022
