U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise stop in Kyiv Monday, ahead of a scheduled trip to Poland four days before the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Why Biden made a historic visit to Ukraine?
Against the wishes of the secret service and the Pentagon, Biden arrived in the besieged capital following a covert operation to conceal his whereabouts. Many gathered in Heaven’s Hundred Square, which was barricaded and surrounded by military and police officials, to spot Biden.
Air raid sirens sounded across the capital as Biden and Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, left St. Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv.
At a press conference Monday, Zelensky said, “This is the most important visit in the whole history of the Ukraine-U.S. relationship.”
Here’s what to know about Biden’s trip, from what’s on the agenda, to Washington’s renewed military commitments, and how the world is reacting.
The surprise visit can only be read as a major show of U.S. support for Ukraine. In a White House press statement issued Monday, Biden said his visit aimed to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
“When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong,” he said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Biden has long framed his administration’s support for Ukraine as central to revitalizing U.S. ties with Europe and the liberal international order.
In a press conference Monday, Biden said, “Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map. Putin’s war of conquest is failing. Russia’s military has lost half the territory it once occupied.”
Analysts have said the trip is an important boost for troop morale. But it is also aimed at the U.S. public, as domestic support for Ukraine remains essential for Kyiv’s war efforts.
