Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for a meal at McDonald’s during an unannounced two-day visit to Kyiv, where Kuleba joked about his go-to hangover meal.
"When I was a student, my best hangover food was actually to go to McDonald's,” Kuleba said while eating a cherry pie. Blinken chuckled, saying he’s sure that was a “rare” case.
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"When I was a student, my best hangover food was actually to go to @McDonalds ... I would go to McDonalds and buy double cheeseburger, big Coke, and that would be my hangover breakfast"
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) September 6, 2023
-- Ukraine foreign affairs minister @DmytroKuleba @SecBlinken - "That never happened to me" pic.twitter.com/UiMoiRCgjC
“Very rare, of course,” Kuleba said. “But I would go to McDonald's and buy double cheeseburger, big Coke, and that would be my hangover breakfast."
“That never happened to me," Blinken deadpanned while eating fries.
McDonald's halted operations at all 850 locations in Russia in March 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. McDonald's started reopening some of its restaurants in Ukraine in August 2022 after the fast food chain pulled out due to the economy being severely damaged by the war and affecting businesses. Kuleba credits Blinken with assisting to help open the Western business back up in Ukraine.
Blinken touched down in the Ukrainian capital hours after Russia launched its first missile attack in a week against Kyiv. A military strike hit an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing over a dozen people and wounding many, officials said.
The United States is expected to announce $1 billion in funding for Ukraine, while President Joe Biden has been pushing for more than $20 million in military and humanitarian aid for the country, but it remains unclear how much funding will be approved.
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Marking his fourth trip to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, Blinken met with other officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as well.
This morning, Blinken shared photos alongside Kuleba at the Berkovetske cemetery in Kyiv, paying his “respects to some of Ukraine's fallen soldiers,” adding that “the United States is proud to stand with Ukraine as it defends its people and sovereignty.”