U2’s Bono, The Edge Put On Makeshift Bomb Shelter Performance for Troops in Ukraine

U2 frontman Bono and The Edge did a surprise 40-minute acoustic performance for Ukrainian troops in Kyiv over the weekend.

Performing in the Khreshchatyk metro station serving as a bomb shelter, Bono and The Edge offered up acoustic renditions of some of their greatest hits, from “In the Name of Love” to “With or Without You.”

Bono had tweeted earlier on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited the band “as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

“The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom,” Bono told the crowd of about 100 people. “We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon.”

Speaking between songs, Bono further told the crowd: “This evening, 8th of May, shows will ring out in the Ukraine sky, but you’ll be free at last. They can take your lives, but they can never take your pride.”

At one point, Bono even invited up some Ukrainian soldiers to sing “Stand by Me,” with the word “Me” changed to Ukraine.

Bono (U2) and “Antytela” band in Kyiv metro 🇺 #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/C89h2gehZD

— Kristina Berdynskykh (@berdynskykh_k) May 8, 2022

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

— U2 (@U2) May 8, 2022

President Joe Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the moment of support shows that Ukraine has more peaceful days ahead.

“It’s a Beautiful Day in the Kyiv metro,” Blinken tweeted. “The people of Ukraine have shown remarkable determination and resilience in the face of this brutal invasion. WE stand #UnitedWithUkraine and support its pursuit of more peaceful, democratic, and beautiful days ahead.”

It's a Beautiful Day in the Kyiv metro. The people of Ukraine have shown remarkable determination and resilience in the face of this brutal invasion. We stand #UnitedWithUkraine and support its pursuit of more peaceful, democratic, and beautiful days ahead. https://t.co/BN7FlT7O8U

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 8, 2022

Bono and The Edge are just two among the many celebrities that have visited Ukraine over the past few weeks in a show of solidarity. Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, and first lady Jill Biden have visited the country.

“I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Jill Biden said upon her visit. “I thought it was important to show the Ukrainian people that this war has to stop and this war has been brutal and that the people of the United States stand with the people of Ukraine.”