Kyiv: In an unusual move, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken picked up a red guitar at a basement bar during his visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv, and performed the song 'Rockin' in the Free World' to shore up support for the country in the over two-year-long war against Russia. The top US diplomat showed up his rock music and guitar skills and asserted that the world was fighting not just for Ukraine but the 'free world'.
Blinken, who while in Kyiv this week has pledged unwavering U.S. support as Russia has intensified attacks in Ukraine, joined band 19.99 on stage at Barman Dictat in the capital city. They played Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World", a rock anthem released in 1989 just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Blinken watched most of 19.99's set before the lead singer introduced him as a "great friend of Ukraine."
"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, so much of the world is with you and they're fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you, too," Blinken said before playing the song.
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The song performed by Blinken in the basement bar was first performed during an era when the erstwhile Soviet Union was reeling from protests. Ultimately the USSR broke up and numerous nations, including Ukraine, gained independence. Now, Ukraine is locked in a major conflict with Russia, who have called the invasion of the country a "special military operation".
Blinken is the first senior US official to travel to Ukraine after US Congress last month passed a $61 billion military aid package following a delay of several months during which Russia gained advantage on the battlefield. He arrived in Kyiv by train on Tuesday morning and promised that Washington would stand beside Kyiv at a time when Russia is mounting fresh attacks in the country's east.
Blinken's assurances to Ukraine
The top US diplomat, in a speech at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, acknowledged the delay of US weapons made Ukraine more vulnerable to Russia's attacks but said Kyiv can count on Washington's unwavering support because the American people understood that Russia would not stop in Ukraine. The US was also working with European allies to lay the foundation for Ukraine to build its long-term force, efforts that would be bringing Kyiv "closer to and then into" NATO, he added.
"Putin is ramping up yet another offensive against Ukraine in Kharkiv and across the east, sending wave after wave of Russian soldiers, Iranian drones, North Korean artillery, and tanks, missiles and fighter jets built with machines and parts supplied by China," Blinken said. "We are with you today. And we will stay by your side until Ukraine's security, sovereignty, its ability to choose its own path is guaranteed."
Kyiv has been on the back foot on the battlefield for months as Russian troops have slowly advanced, taking advantage of Ukraine's shortages of troop manpower and artillery shells. The holdup in US aid to Ukraine was largely driven by former US President Donald Trump, whose non-committal stance on Ukraine has spooked European countries.
Russia now controls about 18 per cent of Ukraine and has been gaining ground since the failure of Kyiv's 2023 counter-offensive to make serious inroads against Russian troops dug in behind deep minefields. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Blinken that air defence supplies were "the biggest deficit for us" with Russia conducting long-range aerial attacks since March that have pounded electricity facilities and caused blackouts.
(with inputs from Reuters)
