Secretary of State Antony Blinken is facing backlash over his musical performance at a Kiev bar, with some arguing it was inappropriate given Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.
Blinken, during a surprise visit on Tuesday, played a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” with a band at Barman Dictat, a well-known cocktail bar.
As he took the stage with the Ukrainian band 19.99, the crowd erupted in applause and Blinken said: “Your soldiers, your citizens – especially in the northeast, in Kharkiv – are suffering tremendously.”
“But they need to know, you need to know, the United States is with you, much of the world is with you and they are fighting not just for a free Ukraine, but for a free world. And the free world is with you too,” he continued.
Some Ukrainians, however, criticized the top US diplomat for what they saw as poor judgment given Russia’s recent advances in northwestern Ukraine.
“One word is enough to describe US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s night in Kiev yesterday: inadequate,” said Svitlana Matviyenko, head of the NGO Agency for Legislative Initiatives. said on Facebook.
“The Kharkiv region is being wiped from the Earth, people are abandoning their homes, Kharkiv is under attack by aerial bombs. The Sumy region is preparing and a senior US official is singing songs in a Kiev bar,” she added.
Oleh Symoroz, a Ukrainian veteran who lost both legs in combat, called the performance “as inadequate as possible.”
“It’s not the right time, it’s not the right time. So many people die every day because we don’t have enough weapons and we don’t have enough support from our allies,” he said. wrote on X, later adding: “Therefore, such concerts, I am sorry, are simply impolite and inappropriate. I advise the Secretary of State to visit a military cemetery rather than a bar…”
Blinken, 62, arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday to meet with senior officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a show of support for the embattled nation. They marked the first official talks since Congress passed its massive foreign aid bill that included $60 billion for Ukraine’s artillery and air defense.
Ukrainian lawmaker and former diplomat Bogdan Yaremenko said that while the country is grateful for U.S. support, the performance was poorly timed given the time it took for Congress to approve more aid to the nation.
“Yes, we are very grateful for the vital assistance from the United States. Without it, we would probably have lost this war. We are getting the hang of it,” he said. he wrote in a translated post on Facebook. “But we also can’t help but see everything that gives the impression that the United States plays for the free world is not rock and roll, but some other music similar to Russian song.”
Kiev-based foreign policy and security analyst Jimmy Rushton said the performance was “surprisingly tone-deaf.”
“This isn’t supposed to be a shitty vacation; Ukrainian soldiers are fighting and dying in huge numbers right now along the front line and Blinken is in a bar in Kiev pretending to be a rock star,” he wrote on X.
Blinken has also faced internal scrutiny over the performance of the Republican National Committee, that wrote“This is not a serious administration.”
The Hill has reached out to the State Department for further comment.
During his trip to Ukraine, Blinken also visited students at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where he assured them that they “are not alone”.
“We find ourselves at a critical moment,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “The coming weeks and months will demand a lot from Ukrainians, who have already sacrificed so much. I came to Ukraine with a message: you are not alone.”
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