President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
It is Biden’s first visit to the war-torn country since Russia launched its war a year ago this week. He came as he was to begin a three-day visit to Poland.
“Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv!” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky wrote on his official Telegram channel. “Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians.”
The visit was kept secret for security reasons. It was also symbolic because it comes as Ukraine is intensely pressuring the United States for more weapons to help it fight off Russian aggression as the war enters a new phase. uncertain.
There are few, if any, examples of US presidents traveling to an active war zone where there is no US troop presence.
Ukrainian officials have been signaling for weeks that Russia may be planning a major new offensive around the first anniversary of the war.
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Biden announces half-billion-dollar security plan
During the visit, Biden announced half a billion dollars in additional security assistance to Ukraine and said more details would be released in the coming days. He said the package will include more military equipment, including artillery ammunition, more javelins, an anti-tank missile system and howitzers, a long-range artillery weapon. He did not appear to name any new types of equipment that Ukraine had not previously received. Biden also said additional sanctions against Russia would be announced this week.
Biden was spotted walking with Zelenskky past St. Michael, a gold-domed monastery in Kyiv. Shortly after, air raid sirens sounded in the Ukrainian capital. The cathedral complex of sky-blue and gold buildings has long been a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. In 2013, its priests harbored pro-Western protesters beaten by police forces under the authority of a Kremlin-backed president.
“When Putin launched his invasion nearly a year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlive us. But he was dead wrong,” Biden said in a Twitter post.
The White House said last week that Biden had no plans to cross into Ukraine from neighboring Poland as part of his visit to that country. His visit to Kyiv came a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver a speech in which he could outline Russia’s goals for the second year of the invasion he launched on February 24 this year. last.
More:As Americans tire of war in Ukraine, Biden plans to mark anniversary of Russia invasion
USA Today
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