McCartney plays first Ukrainian concert

KIEV, Ukraine, June 15 (UPI) -- British singer Paul McCartney told nearly 200,000 fans at his first performance in Ukraine he was happy to be there despite heavy rains.

McCartney performed the free Independence Concert Saturday in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev before the huge crowd that braved torrential rain and lightning to hear the former Beatle, the BBC reported Sunday.

"It's great to be here," McCartney told concert attendees. "Thank you for coming out in the rain."

Among the songs McCartney played were Beatles classics such as "Drive My Car," "Hey Jude" and, appropriately for a performance in the former Soviet bloc nation, "Back in the USSR."

Fans told the BBC the concert was a sign that Ukraine, which gained its independence in 1991, was truly free of the Soviet Union.

"We have always been somewhere behind the iron fence and we'd like to join the rest of the world now," festival attendee Oxana Bulan said.