Joe Biden made a visit to Kiev to demonstrate US support for Ukraine on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion . Biden's trip was kept a closely guarded secret, even to parts of his own administration. It was obvious that Kyiv was waiting for distinguished guests, but until recently, no one expected that the people of Kiev would see the President of the United States on Mikhailovskaya Square.
Joe Biden met with Volodymyr Zelensky and immediately made several positive statements regarding arms supplies, new sanctions against Russia, and financial support for Ukraine. For his part, Zelensky emphasized that Biden's visit will be displayed on the battlefield.Channel 24analyzed why Biden's visit is so important, and also what China has to do with it.
How Biden's European tour unexpectedly took him to Kiev
Joe Biden's visit to the capital of Ukraine took place secretly for security reasons. The US President left Washington without warning, although on Saturday he was seen with his wife in a restaurant, writes The New York Times. Biden was scheduled to visit Warsaw on February 21, with officials repeatedly denying any other plans or re-routing. At the same time, on Sunday, the White House even published the president's schedule for Monday, which indicated that he was still in Washington, and in the evening he would board a plane to Poland.
At the same time, it was obvious that Vladimir Zelensky would meet with Joe Biden while he was in Europe. Possible locations for this meeting were Warsaw, the Polish-Ukrainian border, and even Lviv. However, as it turned out, Biden insisted on going to Kiev, even despite the request of his inner circle not to risk it again.
Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev/photo NYT
According to Jim La Porta, from Rolling Stone magazine, which learned about the visit in advance and was asked to keep it secret, US President Joe Biden was presented with a “big plan” for a trip to Ukraine. However, according to the publication, Biden personally insisted on visiting Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which became a symbol of resistance to the Russian invasion in the first weeks of the war.
Pay attention!The New York Times recalled other visits by US presidents to war-torn countries. For example, in 2003, George W. Bush traveled secretly to Iraq, when even his secret service officials were sure that he was on his ranch in Texas. And already in 2010, Barack Obama secretly went to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The difference between those trips with the visit of Joe Biden is that there are no regular American troops on the territory of Ukraine, except for a few people guarding the embassy, so Ukraine was fully responsible for the security of the US president. Joe Biden himself has repeatedly visited Ukraine before and, in general, is the record holder in Ukrainian business trips among American officials. However, prior to this, Biden made visits to Kyiv not in the status of the President of the United States. During the time of Barack Obama, he served in his administration as vice president. At the same time, this is generally the first visit of a US President to Ukraine since 2008, because Barack Obama was unable to visit Ukraine during his two terms, as well as his successor, Donald Trump.
The first appearance of Joe Biden in public when they Together with Vladimir Zelensky, they walked along Mikhailovskaya Square, which coincided with a large-scale air alert in Ukraine. The Russians raised their fighters on the territory of Belarus for the sake of another threat, but, fortunately, there were no shelling.
What Biden and Zelensky agreed on
Immediately after Joe Biden's visit to Kiev ceased to be secret, the White House published message, which briefly described the purpose of the visit of the President of the United States. It states that Biden arrived on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to reaffirm his unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
When Putin launched his invasion nearly a year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlive us. But he was deeply mistaken. I will announce further shipments of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radars, to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardment, the White House said in a statement.
A little later, Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky spoke at a joint press conference, where the American leader admitted that not only Putin at the beginning of the war was mistaken about Ukraine's ability to defend itself, the whole world expected a worse ending, but the Ukrainians survived and continue to win on the battlefield.< /p>
Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky during a press conference/photo NYT
This is the biggest ground war in Europe in three-quarters of a century. And you succeeded in it, against all expectations except your own. And I am sure that you will continue to win,” Joe Biden said.
Joe Biden emphasized thatthis “cruel and unjust war” is still far from being won, and there will be “very hard days, weeks and years”. However, Vladimir Putin's war of conquest has failed, Biden notes, and direct evidence of this is the fact that the US president is standing in Kyiv today with the president of Ukraine. Joe Biden promised long-term and firm US support for Ukraine.
At the same time, Biden announced an additional $500 million support package for Ukraine, the details of which will be announced tomorrow, as part of his trip to Warsaw. In particular, the United States plans to introduce additional sanctions against Russia and those associated with its military machine.
Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that this visit by Joe Biden will be displayed on the battlefield. The President of Ukraine also thanked for the decision to transfer Abrams tanks and Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. Zelensky said that during a conversation with Biden, he raised the issue of supplying long-range missiles and other types of weapons that Ukraine still does not have.
This visit of the US President to Ukraine, the first in fifteen years, is the most important visit in the history of Ukrainian-American relations, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that both presidents were very pleased with the visit, and the very fact of Biden's arrival can be called a victory and a direct signal to the Kremlin. Finally, Kuleba also called the US president's visit historic.
I will say this: both presidents are pleased with the conversation. The atmosphere is the most trusting and sincere. This visit is a victory for the Ukrainian people and President Zelensky. It was carried out against all odds for the victory of Ukraine and the entire free world. A clear signal to the swamps – no one is afraid of you! Dmitry Kuleba emphasized.
After a six-hour visit, Joe Biden's motorcade left the capital of Ukraine. The US president's next stop is Warsaw, where he is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Pay attention!It is expected that Biden may announce an increase in the contingent of American troops in Eastern Europe, as well as the strengthening of the Polish army, because Warsaw is also under threat from Vladimir Putin and his vassal Alexander Lukashenko. The issue of aid for Ukraine will also be raised at the meeting of the Presidents of Poland and the United States. Joe Biden to Kiev took another trip abroad. Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi traveled to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. In anticipation of this trip, the Americans said they had information about China's intentions to start supplying weapons to Russia and warned them against this step, because it could destroy the already shaky relations between the US and China.
China reacted quite harshly to Washington's accusation and urged the United States not to interfere in relations between Beijing and Moscow. They stressed that China-Russia partnership is based on “non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties.”
The United States is in no position to make demands on China. We will never accept the US pointing the finger at Sino-Russian relations or even forcing us to do so,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also commented on Wang Yi’s trip to Moscow and urged China to “pragmatism.” In an interview with Die Welt, Zelensky stressed that if China really decides to unite with Russia, it could lead us to a world war.
It is important for us that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war. In fact, I would like China to be on our side. However, at the moment I don't think it's possible,” the President of Ukraine said.
The Chinese representative's trip to Moscow comes at a time when Beijing is preparing to lay out its proposals for a possible “political settlement” wars in Ukraine. Most likely, Wang Yi is going to present the Chinese “peace plan” to Vladimir Putin first.
Vladimir Putin and Wang Yi/Kremlin photo
China does have certain levers of pressure on Russia, but this “peace agreement” is unlikely to correlate with Ukraine's demands for the liberation of the entire territory of our state from invaders, although according to preliminary data, China took into account in its proposal “the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and the UN Charter” .
On the other hand, China thus demonstrates its involvement in the problem of the war in Ukraine, and on the eve of his visit to Moscow, Wang Yi for the first time called it not a “conflict”, but a “war.” China is trying to create a counterbalance to the US and expose the Americans as warmongers by offering peace initiatives from its side. However, the effectiveness of such a proposal remains in question.
European officials familiar with China's plan described it as rather vague and ineffective, but also noted positive proposals, such as the demilitarization of nuclear power plants or the inadmissibility of nuclear blackmail. However, it is not yet clear how ready Putin will be to completely withdraw his troops from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant or to stop dispersing nuclear threats.
Biden's visit should strengthen Allies' support for Ukraine
Already on Friday, February 24, a virtual summit of the G7 is to take place. The Prime Minister of Japan, the country hosting the meeting this year, said that the G7 summit would be dedicated to the anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war and invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to it. At the same time,Japan has already announced a record $5.5 billion financial support package for Ukraine.
It is likely that Biden's visit to Kyiv was intended to give an extra boost to the allies and provide increased military and financial support for Ukraine, as the war enters its decisive phase, according to the Pentagon and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the dialogue with Biden, the topic of new arms deliveries was nevertheless raised, and perhaps the West is preparing to transfer long-range missiles.
The European Union is also not standing aside. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, calls for providing Ukraine with a sufficient amount of ammunition, primarily artillery. Borrell notes that it is very important that Ukraine get parity in the artillery fight against the Russian invaders. The chief EU diplomat calls on member states to solve the problem of ammunition for Ukraine in the next few weeks.
Already in March, an emergency meeting of the ministers of defense and foreign affairs of the EU countries will be held, where it is planned to discuss accelerating the supply of ammunition to Ukraine. It is likely that Joe Biden's trip to Kyiv will provide allies in Europe with an additional impetus to urgently solve this problem.
Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv can be called truly historic. All indirect signals from Biden himself and Vladimir Zelensky hint that we will soon see rather unexpected decisions that will help Ukraine put an end to the war and Russia's territorial ambitions.
