"President Zelensky invited us to appear in Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and that is what we came to do," the two U2 members said.
At the personal invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Bono and Edge of U2 visited Kyiv on Sunday, May 8, to give an acoustic concert at one of the city's metro stations, which has been converted into a shelter.
"People in Ukraine are not just fighting for your freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom," Bono told the crowd, which also included soldiers. "We pray that you will soon enjoy some of this peace," he added.
According to the Irish Times, Bono sang U2 hits such as "With or Without You", "Desire", "Angel of Harlem" and "Vertigo". He also performed "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King and replaced the lyrics of the song to refer to "Stand in Ukraine".
Throughout the show, the U2 duo were framed on their makeshift stage by Ukrainian musicians who were forced to fight by Russian troops. Singer Taras Topolya from the Ukrainian band Antytila, who recently collaborated with Ed Sheeran, was among those who sang with Bono.
"President Zelensky invited us to appear in Kyiv as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and that is what we came to do," Bono and U2 Edge wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Bono and Edge participated in the livestream "Stand Up for Ukraine" of the organization Global Citizen in early April, where they presented an acoustic performance of the song "Walk On" by U2.
"The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom - and for ours - in the face of indescribable violence and unjust invasion," the U2 duo said at the time.
"More than 4 million people, mostly women and children, have been forced to flee for their lives - a population almost the size of Ireland," said Bono and Edge.
"World leaders must stand up and support the Ukrainians now, those who are at war and those who have fled, and support the refugees wherever they are forced to flee their homes and lands," they said.
Bono also wrote a poem about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was read to the White House by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Watch videos from the appearance of U2 in Kyiv:
