Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was recently interviewed by CNN about the ongoing war in the country and how he copes with the stress of his position. There are a handful of rock artists he named that he said help him unwind during tough times.
The war in Ukraine has been ongoing since Russian President Vladimir Putin imitated an invasion of the country in February of 2022. According to the Congressional Research Service, the U.S. has led the way in terms of assisting Ukraine, with the Biden Administration alone committing more than $40 billion in assistance since the war started last year.
“I’m grateful to the U.S. as the leaders of our support,” Zelensky told CNN. “But I told them as well as the European leaders that we would like to start our counteroffensive earlier, and we need all the weapons and materiel for that. Why? Simply because if we start later, it will go slower.”
Zelensky explained that he makes it a point to find quiet time for himself in order to deal with the stress of leading the nation. He either reads or listens to music, and while he said he loves Ukrainian music because it’s in his native language, there are a couple of legendary, English-speaking rock ‘n’ roll groups that he’s also very fond of.
“The music helps… I like AC/DC,” he noted. “AC/DC, I don’t understand all of the words… I like the energy of AC/DC. I like Eric Clapton, a lot of… Guns N’ Roses… I love it. It’s important to have sometimes, at six or seven in the morning, some training with such music that gives you energy for all the day.”
See a video clip from the interview below.
Guns N’ Roses, who are on tour in Europe right now, apparently caught wind of Zelensky’s remarks, and shared their flattery on social media.
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“Among good company,” they wrote with a flame emoji.
As seen in some recent videos of GN’R’s 2023 performances, the band have dedicated the Use Your Illusion II track “Civil War” to Ukraine, showing an animation of the country’s flag on the screen behind them onstage.
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