Jill Biden thanks US troops in Romania amid Ukraine war

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania (AP) — Delivering good cheer — and 5 gallons of ketchup — Jill Biden thanked U.S. troops deployed to Romania as a check against Russian aggression for their service, as she began a four-day trip to Europe to see first hand the refugee crisis caused by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

After flying overnight from Washington, the first lady arrived at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air

Base in Romania, near the Black Sea, in time to help serve Friday dinner to U.S. service members . About 1,600 of the several thousand U.S. troops President Joe Biden deployed to eastern Europe in the leadup to the Russiaukraine war were sent to the base, which is about 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Romania's border with Ukraine.

Jill Biden served mac and cheese and baked potatoes — and encouraged troops not to skip out on the greens — before greeting small groups of servicemembers at tables in the base dining facility. She also delivered bottles of ketchup, responding to a shortage of the condiment on the base, eliciting cheers from the troops.

“I know it's hard on your families," she told one servicemember, referencing her own experience when her son Beau Biden deployed to Iraq.

Later, in a small room at the same base, Biden was videotaped reading the children's book “Night Catch” aloud with Staff Sgt. Sharon Rogers, originally from Kenya, in a virtual story time session for Rogers' son, Nathan.

“Thank you for your service because when your mom serves, you serve too," Biden said in a comment directed at Nathan.

The first lady also posed for photos with troops from the Delaware Army National Guard before flying to Bucharest, Romania's capital, to continue the trip.

For weeks, the first lady has been transfixed by the news coming out of Ukraine, by the bombings and scenes of “parents weeping over their children's broken bodies in the streets,” as she said in a recent speech. She's now using her second solo overseas trip to get an up-close look at the Ukrainian refugee crisis by visiting Romania and Slovakia, where Biden will spend Mother's Day meeting with displaced families in a small village on the border with Ukraine.

“It's so important to the president and to me that the Ukrainian people know that we stand with them," Jill Biden told reporters traveling with her Thursday night, She said earlier in the week she wants the refugees to know “their resilience inspires me.”

NATO allies Romania and Slovakia border Ukraine and have taken in some of the millions ofmostly women and children who fled after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, triggering Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Biden is using four days in Europe to highlight issues she promotes at home, including support for U.S. service members, education and the welfare of children.