US President Joe Biden’s Secret Visit To Ukraine, Announces Additional Aid

For a United States’ president, such a risky move was unheard of.

White House officials called Joe Biden’s unannounced trip to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, “unprecedented in modern times,” given that he was showing up in a conflict area that was frequently being attacked.

Previous presidential visits to conflict-ridden Iraq and Afghanistan allegedly had the support of a sizable US military force.

Yet despite extensive press speculation that Biden would be considering a trip to Ukraine while he was in Poland, the visit nonetheless surprised everyone.

This was Biden’s maiden trip to Ukraine as president, days before Russia’s invasion completes one year. In a White House statement, his Kyiv’s visit is described as “unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”

According to Kate Bedingfield, director of communications for the White House, “That was risky and should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that Joe Biden is a leader who takes commitment seriously.”

How Biden’s secret visit was executed

Reporters have inquired about a visit frequently during the daily White House news briefings. They were informed that neither a meeting with Zelenskyy nor any stops outside of Warsaw were planned as of “right now.”

Biden was supposed to depart the US for a two-day trip to Poland on Monday evening.

The final decision to make the trip to Kyiv was only decided on Friday, even though it had been discussed for months with a handful of the presidents’ senior aides.

As of Sunday, the president was still scheduled to depart for Warsaw on Monday night at 19:00 Eastern Time (04:00 MUT). In fact, on Sunday morning, Air Force One departed at 04:15 EST (13:15 MUT).

He had traveled covertly from Poland to Kyiv on a 10-hour train ride before departing again for Poland. A US official claimed that Russia was made aware of the trip a few hours before President Biden’s departure for “deconfliction purposes.”

A medical team, security personnel, and a small group of his closest assistants were on board.

Only two journalists were permitted to accompany the president on his trip. They were given a confidentiality oath and had their cell phones taken away. Before Biden landed in Kiev, they were not permitted to report the visit.

A clear message

According to President Joe Biden, the US will support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia for “as long as it takes.” “We have every confidence you’re going to continue to prevail,” he remarked.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to him, was “dead wrong” to believe that Russia could outlast Ukraine and its allies in the West.

Biden met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and they paid a visit to a memorial made in memory of troops who had fallen in the nine years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxies captured some of the eastern Donbas region.

US’ assistance package to Ukraine

Following the visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled a new $450 million package of security aid for Ukraine, including howitzer ammunition, the Himars rocket system, Javelin missiles, and air surveillance radars.

According to Blinken, the US will also give Kyiv an additional $10 million in urgent aid to preserve Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Later this week, additional measures will be introduced against people and organizations “who are trying to escape or backfill Russia’s military machine.”

Zelenskyy claimed that Biden exhibited the tenacity necessary for Ukraine to defeat Russia. “It is now and in Ukraine that the fate of the world order, which is based on rules, on humanity… is being decided,” he said.

He added that the two presidents had spoken about sending additional weapons. Despite Zelenskyy’s repeated requests, the US and other allies have so far refrained from approving the purchase of F-16 fighter jets.