Bono, the vocalist of the Irish rock band U2 and his bandmate the Edge, gave a 40-minute concert in a Kyiv metro station and lauded Ukrainians struggling for independence from Russia.

“President @ZelenskyyUa invited us to perform in Kyiv as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people and so that’s what we’ve come to do,” the band said in a tweet.

“Your president leads the world in the cause of freedom right now … the people of Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you’re fighting for all of us who love freedom,” Bono spoke to an audience of up to 100 people gathered inside the Khreshchatyk subway station.

After invading Ukraine on February 24, Russia advanced towards Kyiv before pulling its forces from near the city at the end of March to focus its forces in the country’s east.

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Despite Russia’s continued missile strikes across Ukraine, some life has returned to Kyiv, despite air raid sirens sounding on a regular basis.

During his performance, Bono roused the crowd between songs.

“This evening, 8 May, shots will ring out in the Ukraine sky, but you’ll be free at last. They can take your lives, but they can never take your pride,” he said.

Previously Pink Floyd had released Hey Hey Rise Up, a song in aid of Ukraine, which was also the band’s first new music in nearly three decades.

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The song, written to collect funds for humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine, features David Gilmour and Nick Mason, as well as long-time Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards, all accompanied by a vocal by Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Ukrainian band Boombox.