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.
Against the wishes of the secret service and the Pentagon, Biden arrived in the besieged capital following a covert operation to conceal his whereabouts. Biden reportedly had dinner with his wife Saturday in Washington, D.C. and departed quietly after.
Biden later took a hour-long train ride from the Polish border to reach the Ukrainian capital. Many gathered in Heaven’s Hundred Square, which was barricaded and surrounded by military and police officials, to spot Biden. The main road in Kyiv was also closed off giving way to traffic jams in the city.
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Air raid sirens sounded across the capital as Biden and Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, left St Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv.
Read More: Inside Zelensky’s World
The visit came as Ukraine marked the Day of the Heroes of Heavenly Hundred, which commemorates the 107 lives lost by those who fought in anti-government protests in 2014 that Ukrainians call the Revolution of Dignity. That unrest prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin—concerned about Ukraine moving toward the West—to annex Crimea and back separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.
The White House’s public schedule for Biden showed him as in Washington until Monday evening, where he would depart for Poland from. While it was rumored that Biden could meet Zelensky, near Poland’s border with Ukraine, or in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, no such arrangement had been confirmed.
The extensive effort can only be read as a major show of U.S. support for Ukraine. In a statement issued Monday, Biden said his visit aimed to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
He added: “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.”
The statement announced that the U.S. will provide further military aid including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to better defend Ukraine’s skies. It also said that further sanctions would be issued on companies and individuals who reinforce Russia’s war efforts.
Zelensky welcomed the visit with an Instagram post of him shaking Biden’s hand. “Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians,” the caption read.
Biden is scheduled to meet Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday morning and deliver a speech from Warsaw Castle that same day. The speech is expected to pledge further support for Ukraine and reinforce the NATO alliance.
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