(15 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kyiv – 14 May 2024
1. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken playing “Rockin’ in the Free World." with band on stage
++BLACK FRAMES++
2. Applause as song ends
STORYLINE:
After a day of meetings with senior officials, civil society figures and university students, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took to the stage at a bar in Ukraine’s capital to play rhythm guitar and sing with a local band on Neil Young’s 1989 hit “Rockin’ in the Free World."
Blinken sought Tuesday to rally the spirits of Ukrainians facing a fierce new Russian offensive, assuring them during a visit to Kyiv that they are not alone and that billions of dollars in American military aid on its way after months of political delays will make a “real difference” on the battlefield.
The musical performance, and a series of sunny comments from Blinken about Ukraine’s battlefield prospects, was a startling juxtaposition to what analysts have called one of the most dangerous moments for Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian forces have taken swaths of territory along Ukraine’s northeast border, and thousands of civilians in the Kharkiv region have fled the increasingly intense attacks.
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