Ukraine: According to AFP journalists, US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On his first visit to Ukraine since the conflict began, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
Mr. Biden arrived in Ukraine’s capital at a critical juncture in the conflict, both at home and abroad. Some of America’s staunchest allies have urged Ukraine to start negotiating a peace deal, which could include ceding territory to Russia. In the United States, the newly installed House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, and some of his Republican colleagues have demanded an end to what they refer to as “a blank check” for the war effort.
There cannot be a stronger commitment than this. US President Biden walking alongside President Zelenskyy inside the city of Kyiv.#Ukraine #USA #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/yYS9NUq0y4
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) February 20, 2023
Mr. Biden was already scheduled to arrive in Warsaw on Tuesday for a two-day visit, and officials had repeatedly denied that there were any other plans for a trip to Ukraine while he was there. Indeed, the White House issued a public schedule for Monday night that showed the president still in Washington and leaving in the evening for Warsaw, despite the fact that he was already half a world away.
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Mr. Biden’s surprise visit came just a day before President Vladimir V. Putin’s scheduled speech on Tuesday, in which the Russian leader is expected to discuss his country’s war effort amid indications that a spring offensive in Ukraine is already underway.
Mr. Biden was scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday morning before delivering a speech from Warsaw Castle later that afternoon, creating a split-screen image of Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin both speaking about Ukraine on the same day. It was unclear whether his schedule would be altered as a result of his visit to Kyiv.
