Brad Paisley Says He ‘Felt Fear’ Traveling To Ukraine

Brad Paisley showed his support for Ukraine in January after he joined Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a Zoom call and encouraged people to donate to the country who are at war with Russia. Brad also included the Ukrainian President on a song called "Same Here," which will be on his upcoming album. It will be his first album for UMG Nashville.

Paisley talked to us at his Nashville area home yesterday afternoon (6/21) and said that when he later (April 2023) visited and met Zelenskyy face-to-face on a trip to war-torn Ukraine, he admitted after the security briefing and secret details of his journey, he was a bit nervous.

He told us, "I definitely felt fear in a way that I almost never do. I'm not used to that feeling. I wrote my kids and wife letters before I left, saying why I am doing this. I couldn't really tell anybody other than Kim (his wife), and my Dad knew that I was going, but other than that, this is the kind of thing you have to keep secret."

Brad continued, "One of the things I wrote my kids I remember in the letter was, 'I hope you know why I am going, which is that I believe in this and I believe that I'm helping. And I believe that when you grow up, and you have opportunities to make a difference, even if it's scary or seems like a risk, it's worth it.' I wanted to leave that because you just never know. You leave that for them to read. That's sort of a consolation as to the fact that I knew what I was doing."

Never one to miss a chance to joke a little, Paisley said when we asked him how his wife felt that he was going to such a dangerous place. "Kim seemed absolutely fine with it. In fact, it was kind of a funny thing when someone asked her afterward, 'Were you nervous?' and she was like, 'Nah.' Now I like to think she was, but my kids, I don't think they knew it was that dangerous, maybe. When you're a kid, everything you see on TV, who's to say what's real now."