JOE’S SURPRISE VISIT TO KYIV
Vows $460M more aid in secret trip
President Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine Monday ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, where he pledged another $460 million worth of security aid to the war-torn nation and told Russian President Vladimir Putin that his “war of conquest is failing.”
“One year later, Kyiv stands, Ukraine stands, democracy stands,” Biden said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Mariinsky Palace in the heart of the capital. “The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”
Biden is one of the last Western leaders to set foot in Ukraine since Russia launched its attack on Feb. 24, 2022. The White House had previously confirmed the president would travel to Poland to mark the anniversary but had denied as recently as Friday that any other stops were planned.
“Right now, the trip is going to be in Warsaw,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that day, later adding unprompted: “I said ‘right now.’ ”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday that planning for the visit had gone on for months, but Biden only gave final approval on Friday after being briefed on security arrangements.
The US military does not have a presence in Ukraine other than a small detachment of Marines guarding the embassy in Kyiv, and control of the airspace over the country remains contested. While Biden was in Ukraine, American surveillance planes, including E-3 Sentry airborne radar and an electronic RC135W Rivet Joint aircraft, were keeping watch over Kyiv from Polish airspace.
Air Force One took off in secret from Joint Base Andrews at 4:15 a.m. EST on Sunday and stopped at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The commander in chief arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. local time Monday and was greeted by US Ambassador Bridget Brink, with Biden saying, “It’s good to be back.”
More arms on way
After meeting with Zelensky, Biden announced the latest round of aid — on top of more than $50 billion already provided — in the form of shells for howitzers, antitank missiles, air-surveillance radars, night-vision devices and other items but no new advanced weaponry. The materiel will be drawn from US stockpiles, the Pentagon confirmed later Monday — the 32nd such transfer to Ukraine since August 2021. Ukraine also has been pushing for battlefield systems that would allow its forces to strike Russian targets that have been moved back from frontline areas, out of the range of HIMARS missiles that have already been delivered. Zelensky said he and Biden spoke about “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before.” But he did not detail any new commit negotiations ments.
“Our were very fruitful,” Zelensky said. Biden said he decided to come to Kyiv because “I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about US supfor port Ukraine in the war.” With polls showing a growing number of Republicans questioning the amount of aid disbursed to eastern Europe, Biden said that America’s commitment to supporting Ukraine is “not just about freedom in Ukraine . . . it’s about freedom of democracy at large.”
Biden also recalled speaking to Zelensky the night of the invasion, saying “the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Perhaps even the end of Ukraine.” A year later, the Ukrainian capital remains firmly in Ukrainian control.
Although a semblance of normalcy has returned to the city, frequent missile and killer-drone attacks against military and civilian infrastructure across the country are a near-constant reminder that the war is still raging.
The bloodiest fighting is, for the moment, concentrated in the country’s east, particularly around the city of Bakhmut, where Russian offensives are underway.
In his remarks, Biden said his Russian counterpart had “just been plain wrong” about his calculations before launching his invasion. “Putin’s war of conquest is failing. Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now,” the president said.