Last updated: 1 hour ago
In an unannounced visit to Kiev, Ukraine, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, said that the United States will support Ukraine in its fight against Russia “for however long it takes”.
“We have every faith that you will continue to win,” he said.
This is Biden’s first visit to Ukraine as president, and this Friday marks one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “absolutely wrong” to think Russia could prevail against Ukraine and its Western allies.
However, Reuters quoted US National Security Adviser Sullivan as saying at a press conference that the US had notified Russia in advance “for the purpose of eliminating conflict” just hours before Biden’s departure.
According to Agence France-Presse, Biden’s secret visit took a Boeing 757 that was one size smaller than the plane used by the presidents of the United States during foreign visits, and the covers of all portals were pulled down.
Image of Biden arriving at Warsaw airport
Image of Biden arriving in Kiev by train
support package
Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two also visited a memorial to soldiers who died in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces occupied parts of eastern Donbass.
A White House statement said Biden’s trip was intended to reaffirm “the strong commitment of the United States to the democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
He secretly took a 10-hour train ride from Poland to Kiev, and later returned to Poland. After the visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a $450 million security aid package for Ukraine, including howitzer ammunition and the Seahorse rocket system, Javelin missiles and air surveillance radar.
Blinken said the United States would also provide an additional $10 million in emergency aid to Ukraine to maintain Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Zelensky said that Ukraine’s victory over Russia depends on determination, which he saw in Biden.
He also said that the two leaders had discussed the possibility of distributing other weapons. Zelensky has repeatedly asked for the purchase of F16 fighter jets, but the US and other allies have not yet agreed.
Commenting on the visit, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that those who “sell their souls to the Americans” will be defeated.
While other world leaders have visited Ukraine in the past year, the US president was in Kiev for the first time during a war in which US troops did not fight.
image source,Getty Images
The United States is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies, and the US State Department has so far announced $24.9 billion in military aid to Ukraine.
In January of this year, Biden announced that the United States will send 31 main battle tanks, and long-range missiles are also on the way.
How was Biden’s trip to Ukraine kept a secret?
BBC North America Editor Sarah Smith
It was almost a daring trip for the American president.
Appearing in a war zone often under attack, White House officials called Biden’s surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital Kiev “unprecedented in modern times.”
They said that previous visits by the president of the United States to Iraq and Afghanistan during the war had been greatly supported by the United States troops.
Despite widespread speculation in the media that Biden might be planning a visit to Ukraine during his visit to Poland, the visit surprised everyone.
He appeared next to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy amid air raid sirens in central Kiev, and his message was louder than anything he said in a speech in Poland.
Biden was due to fly from the US to Warsaw on Monday evening for a two-day visit. There were two suspiciously long gaps in the pre-arranged itinerary, and many had previously wondered if this was the time for him to slip into Ukraine.
During a daily press briefing at the White House, reporters have been repeatedly asking questions about the visit. He was told, however, that a meeting with Zelenskiy had not been arranged and that there were no plans to stop outside Warsaw “at this time”.
The trip to Kiev had been planned by several of the president’s top aides months ago, but the final decision was made on Friday.
On Sunday, the official White House itinerary still showed the president departing for Warsaw at 19:00 ET Monday night (00:00 GMT on Tuesday). In fact, Biden’s flight took off at 04:15 ET Sunday morning.
A small team of his closest aides, his medical team and his security officers were placed on board.
Only two reporters were allowed to travel with the president. They were required to keep a secret and their mobile phones were confiscated. They did not get to cover the visit until Biden arrived in Kiev.
Subsequently, Biden took a 10-hour train to Kiev. He could have traveled to other more accessible parts of Ukraine, but he wanted to make a symbolic visit to Kiev.
