Biden stuns the world with symbolic trip to Kyiv
President Biden issued a rallying cry to the West today during a highly symbolic secret trip to Kyiv – an astonishing piece of political theatre days before the anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, writes Mattie Brignal.
“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” said Biden, wearing a yellow and blue tie alongside President Zelensky in the centre of the Ukrainian capital. “I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about US support for Ukraine in the war,” he added.
Air raid sirens wailed across Kyiv this morning as the two presidents walked together through the city’s streets under a cold blue sky. The sirens warned of a Russian jet taking off from Belarus, although the Kremlin had been informed of the POTUS visit several hours before he landed to avoid “miscalculations”. Biden’s accidental death from a stray missile would have been in neither nuclear power’s interest, to put it mildly.
The trip was certainly risky. Biden is thought to have overridden his security team’s concerns about the visit, which was shrouded in secrecy. The President set off from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland under cover of darkness at 4:15am ET on Sunday. He was aboard Air Force C-32, a modified Boeing 757 normally used for domestic trips to smaller airports, rather than Air Force One. Reporters travelling on the plane weren’t allowed to carry their phones with them. Biden landed in Poland 20 hours later, taking a 10-hour train the final 400 miles to Kyiv.
Despite the risks, Biden will have felt that the visit – his first to Ukraine as US President – was worth it to disprove the doubters who believe Western resolve is weakening.
The timing of the President’s visit is highly significant. President Putin is due to make his delayed state of the nation address tomorrow ahead of the anniversary of the invasion on Friday, in which he’ll try to put a positive spin on his massive strategic blunder.
And Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, is due in Moscow today to discuss, among other things, ideas for a political settlement of the Ukraine conflict. While Beijing has sent flak jackets and helmets to Russia, it has so far remained officially neutral on the war.
Washington is worried this might be about to change. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said new information suggested Beijing is also considering providing “lethal support” – weapons and ammunition. Beijing strongly denies this.
On the US side, however, the powerful symbolism of Biden’s visit is being backed up by yet more tangible aid. Standing alongside Zelensky, Biden announced a further $500m package of military assistance, including more artillery ammunition, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Howitzers and HIMARS rocket-launchers.
Zelensky will welcome all of it. Although what he really wants is fighter jets, of which there was no mention by Biden. Negotiations are stuck in a rut, with Slovakia, Poland and the Netherlands among the countries to have said they’re willing to send aircraft. The problem is that no nation wants to be the first to do so.
Biden’s appearance in Kyiv was a two-hour whistle-stop tour before he headed back to Poland to meet Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. But the message to Putin was crystal clear: one year after the outbreak of war, Kyiv still has the full backing of its most powerful friend.
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