Biden in Ukraine before the anniversary of the war: “kyiv resists”

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday to meet with President Volodymr Zelenskyy in a startling gesture of solidarity days before his one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of the country.

Speaking to Zelenskyy at the Mariinsky Palace, Biden recalled fears from nearly a year ago that Russian forces could quickly take control of the Ukrainian capital. “A year later, Kyiv is resisting,” Biden said, raising a raised finger in a space decorated with American and Ukrainian flags. “And Ukraine is resisting. Democracy resists. Americans are with you and the world is with you.”

The visit came at a crucial time in the war as Biden tries to keep allies united in their support for Ukraine and both sides are expected to step up fighting with spring offensives. Zelenskyy is urging allies to speed up the delivery of promised weapons systems and has called on the West to supply Ukraine with fighter jets, which Biden has so far refused.

Biden announced US$500 million in additional aid to Kyiv, which would include shells for howitzer launchers, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars and other aid, but no new advanced weapons.

Ukraine has also requested systems allowing its forces to hit Russian targets far from the front lines, beyond the range of the HIMARS missiles already supplied. Zelenskyy said he spoke with Biden about “long-range weapons and weapons that could still be delivered to Ukraine even if they weren’t supplied before,” but did not detail any new commitments.

“Our negotiations were very successful,” Zelenskyy added.

Biden got a glimpse of the terror Ukrainians have lived with for nearly a year, as air raid sirens sounded in the capital just as the two leaders left a visit to St. Michael’s Cathedral. Looking solemn, they continued unperturbed to stand in front of a wall with tributes to fallen Ukrainian soldiers since 2014.

Biden’s mission with his visit to Kyiv, ahead of a reported trip to Warsaw, was to underscore that Washington is prepared to stay with Ukraine “as long as it takes” to repel Russian forces, even if US polls Opinions suggest that support for the West to provide arms and direct economic aid is beginning to wane. For Zelenskyy, the symbolism of having an American president by his side on Ukrainian soil shortly before the anniversary was not a detail, as he urged his allies in the United States and Europe to provide more advanced weapons and to increase the rate of deliveries.

“I thought it was crucial that there was no question, no question at all, about American support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said.

The trip was also a challenge for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was confident his army would take kyiv within days. Biden recalled speaking to Zelenskyy the night of the invasion, saying that “that dark night a year ago, the world was literally preparing for the fall of Kiev. Maybe even for the end of Ukraine. .

A year later, the Ukrainian capital remains under firm Ukrainian control and a semblance of normality has returned to the city as fighting has concentrated in the east of the country, despite drone and cruise missile attacks on infrastructure civilians and military. .

Biden has warned that the “brutal and unjust war” is far from won. “The cost that Ukraine had to pay was extraordinarily high. And the sacrifices have been too great,” Biden said. “We know that there will be very difficult days, weeks and years ahead. But Russia’s goal was to wipe Ukraine off the map. Putin’s war of conquest is failing .”

“He’s counting on us not to stick together,” Biden said of the Russian president. “He thought he could take more than us. I don’t think I think that now. God knows what he thinks, but I don’t think he thinks that. But he is completely wrong. He is completely wrong.”

The trip offered Biden the opportunity to see firsthand the devastation the Russian invasion has wreaked on Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed, millions of refugees have fled the war, and Ukraine has suffered tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure damage.

Biden pledged long-term support for Ukraine “as long as it takes.” Zelenskyy replied in English “we will”.

Ukraine’s president, dressed in his usual black wartime sweatshirt, said through an interpreter that the ‘in-depth discussion’ at their meeting ‘brings us closer to victory’, which he hoped to have This year.

“At the moment the fate of the national order is being decided in Ukraine…” Zelenskyy said. He added words of gratitude to Biden and the American people for their support. “Ukraine is grateful to you, Mr. President, to all American citizens, to all who cherish freedom as much as we do.”

Although Western surface-to-air missiles have strengthened Ukraine’s defenses, it is unusual for a US president to travel to a conflict zone where the United States or its allies do not have control of space. air. It was not immediately clear whether the United States had announced the trip to Moscow in advance to avoid miscalculations that could put the two nations in direct conflict.

The US military has no presence in Ukraine except for a small team of Marines guarding the embassy in Kyiv, making Biden’s visit more difficult than other recent trips by US leaders to countries. war zones.

American reconnaissance aircraft, including an E-3 Sentr airborne radar and an RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft, monitored kyiv from Polish airspace while Biden was in Ukraine.

There had been speculation for weeks that Biden might visit Ukraine near the anniversary of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24. But the White House reiterated that there were no plans for a presidential trip to Ukraine, even after the visit to Poland was announced earlier this month.

At the White House, preparations were limited to a relatively small group of officials for security reasons.

Biden quietly left Joint Base Andrews near Washington shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday, stopping at Ramstein Air Force Base before heading to Ukraine.

Other Western leaders have visited kyiv since the start of the war.

In June, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron; German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled together on an overnight train to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Kyiv in November shortly after taking office.

This is Biden’s first visit to a war zone as president. His most recent predecessors, Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, made unannounced visits to Afghanistan and Iraq during their tenures to meet with US troops and those countries’ leaders.

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Madhani and Miller reported from Washington.