CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin says he’s reevaluating what the people of Ukraine need after a recent visit to that country with West Virginia native and country music star Brad Paisley.
Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Paisley talked about last week’s trip on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
“I am more committed than I’ve ever been seeing a country, that’s able to throw anything you can at them, face death every minute of every day and be willing to fight,” Manchin said.
Manchin and Paisley, along with Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) traveled to the capital city of Kyiv last Wednesday to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy to show their support amid the ongoing war with Russia.
What were some of @BradPaisley‘s takeaways from visiting Ukraine with @Sen_JoeManchin last week? How eye-opening of an experience was it?
Brad and Senator Manchin joined @HoppyKercheval today on MetroNews Talkline. pic.twitter.com/PclALJdWkc
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) April 17, 2023
Paisley said seeing the war zone was eye-opening.
“The main thing I really was struck by when we were there is they are living their lives full-blast in spite of this war,” he said.
Traveling in armored SUVs, Paisley said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Ukrainians doing everyday things.
“I saw kids getting off of school buses with their bookbags and raincoats. I saw people walking their dogs through the park. I saw people playing sports. I saw people in restaurants. They could be hit by a missile at any point, but they decided ‘we’re going to live’ because that’s the best revenge here,” Paisley said.
The U.S. has already directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine which includes humanitarian, financial and military aid. Manchin said more weapons may be needed to protect Ukraine.
“I’m reevaluating all the different things I’ve heard whether it be certain types of ammunition, certain types of weapons that we can get to them that they can be effective,” Manchin said.
Paisley released a song earlier this year called “Same Here” with a line that includes President Zelesnkyy.
“They heard this song and I said ‘is there anything you want to say?'” Paisley said. “The next thing you know, he recorded some lines talking about our similarities.”
During the trip, Paisley sang John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” alongside Manchin during a press conference with Zelesnkyy in Kyiv.