Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sat down for some McDonaldâs to celebrate the franchise reopening in Ukraine.
During a two-day visit to Ukraine ahead of the G20 Summit this weekend, Blinken and Kuleba sat down to swap stories of eating McDonaldâs as college students with some French fries and cherry pie. Kuleba described the reopening of McDonaldâs in Ukraine as sending a âmessage of confidence,â according to Reuters.
âI think having McDonaldâs in the country is a message: a message of confidence,â Kuleba said of an earlier phone call with Blinken when Kuleba cited the importance of McDonaldâs returning to Ukraine after Russiaâs invasion.
âThis is how the comeback of McDonaldâs started â in the phone conversation,â Kuleba shared. âAnd this is why weâre here tonight.â
In February 2022, McDonaldâs announced it would temporarily pause operations in Ukraine due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia. Months later, the franchise revealed it was working to reopen its restaurants in Ukraine, according to Axios.
âWhen I was a student, my best hangover food was to go to McDonaldâs,â Kuleba told Blinken, adding he would order a double cheeseburger and a big Coke.
âIâm sure that was very rare,â Blinken told Kuleba. âThat never happened to me.â
While McDonaldâs left Russia as well, a knock-off version of the franchise, called Vkusno & Tochka or âTasty & Thatâs itâ opened and recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.
