×

Blinken Shares Pizza With Ukrainian Counterpart In Kyiv Visit

The pair split a meat pizza -- called "Ukrainian pizza" by the restaurant -- and a vegetarian one.


Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (R) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) have a working lunch at Veterano Pizza in Kyiv. US military aid for Ukraine is “now on its way” and will “make a real difference,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a visit to Kyiv on May 14, 2024. (Photo by Handout / Ukrainian Foreign Ministry press-service / AFP)

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a ringing endorsement to a popular Ukrainian pizzeria founded by a war veteran during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.

Alongside his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, the top American diplomat grabbed a slice from “Veterano Pizza”, a military-themed establishment that features a glass tabletop with empty bullet casings.

“As somewhat of a knowledgeable person about pizza — as most Americans are — the pizza here is superb. I highly, highly recommend it,” Blinken said.

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) prior to their talks at the Prime Minister’s office in Kyiv on May 14, 2024.  (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / POOL / AFP)

 

The pair split a meat pizza — called “Ukrainian pizza” by the restaurant — and a vegetarian one.

Last September Blinken and Kuleba shared a portion of fries at McDonald’s after it resumed work in Kyiv. But Kuleba said this time round he had insisted on a Ukrainian restaurant.

“Some people criticised me on social media that I took you to McDonald’s, not to Ukrainian place. So now we are correcting this,” he told reporters.

Blinken was in the Ukrainian capital on a surprise visit weeks after Washington approved a $61 billion package of aid for Kyiv.

AFP