{"id":14000,"date":"2023-02-21T10:16:04","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T08:16:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=14000"},"modified":"2023-02-21T10:16:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T08:16:05","slug":"us-president-biden-makes-unannounced-trip-to-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/us-president-biden-makes-unannounced-trip-to-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"US President Joe Biden makes unannounced trip to Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on February 20 an unannounced wartime visit only a few days before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden was welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they both made their way to the St Michael&#8217;s Golden-Domed Cathedral on a square in central Kyiv where burnt-out Russian tanks have been placed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden, in his trademark aviator sunglasses, and Zelenskyy, in green military fatigues, walked side-by-side on a bright winter morning as air raid sirens blared around the city. U.S. president roamed around the streets of the besieged city with this host and Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskyy, however, there were no reports of any Russian attack during the time Biden was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">U.S. President Biden makes a surprise trip to Ukraine. He was spotted outside St. Michael\u2019s Golden-Domed Monastery with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/64Pqft0OGb\">pic.twitter.com\/64Pqft0OGb<\/a><\/p>\u2014 IRIA (@IRIA_Research) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IRIA_Research\/status\/1627620162093617152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden\u2019s visit was a highly symbolic moment to demonstrate American support and unwavering commitment to Ukraine ahead of the anniversary of the invasion. \u201cOne year later, Kyiv stands,\u201d Biden declared standing alongside Zelensky\u2019s side in Mariinsky Palace. \u201cAnd Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you\u201d he said. \u201cI thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,\u201d Biden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Kyiv, Biden declared Putin\u2019s \u201cwar of conquest is failing.\u201d In the official released by the White House, Biden said that \u201cPutin 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">President Zelenskyy and all Ukrainians remind the world every day what courage is.<br><br>They remind us that freedom is priceless.<br><br>And worth fighting for.<br><br>For as long as it takes. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GlBT0Sg9ZL\">pic.twitter.com\/GlBT0Sg9ZL<\/a><\/p>\u2014 President Biden (@POTUS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS\/status\/1627703401940131847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden spent over five hours in Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy to discuss future actions, paying tribute to the country&#8217;s deceased soldiers, and visiting with U.S. embassy personnel in the war-hit country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cMost important visit\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zelensky thanked Biden&nbsp;for the \u201cunwavering\u201d support Ukraine had received. \u201cThis first visit of the President in 15 years is the most important visit in the history of Ukrainian-American relations,\u201d the Ukrainian president said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Biden\u2019s visit to Ukraine at a crucial time is an &#8220;extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians.&#8221; Ukraine is preparing for what it expects to be a major new Russian offensive that some military analysts say is already underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Historic. Timely. Brave. I welcomed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@POTUS<\/a> in Kyiv as Russian full-scale aggression approaches its one-year mark. I am thankful to the U.S. for standing with Ukraine and for our strong partnership. We are determined to work together to ensure Ukraine\u2019s victory. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EPtH3fLWWD\">pic.twitter.com\/EPtH3fLWWD<\/a><\/p>\u2014 \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@ZelenskyyUa) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1627631915263004672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Zelenskyy visited Washington in December 2022, his first trip outside Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional assistance for Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The U.S. president announced additional military aid for the Ukrainian forces. He said Washington would provide Kyiv with a new military aid package worth $500 million that would be announced on February 21, 2023. The new aid would include more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden announced another delivery of critical equipment, \u201cincluding artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments\u201d will be sent this week. He also added that the U.S. and its western allies are planning to impose \u201cadditional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia\u2019s war machine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1016\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?resize=1016%2C622&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?resize=1024%2C627&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?resize=300%2C184&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?resize=768%2C471&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-President-Biden-with-Zelenskyy.jpg?w=1100&amp;ssl=1 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1016px) 100vw, 1016px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><em><sup>U.S. President Joe Biden visited Ukraine and met President Zelenskyy on an announced trip on February 20, 2023. (Image Credit: Twitter)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Zelenskyy has been making repeated requests for additional weapons, especially tanks and fighter jets, to counter Russia expected spree of attack in the coming spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his recent trip to Europe and during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, the Ukrainian President repeated his request with substantial success. Several European allies, including Germany, have announced to provide Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, while the U.S. is providing M1 Abrams tanks to counter Russia expected advances, however, Zelenskyy has failed to acquire fighter jets so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is Biden\u2019s first visit to a war zone as president. Biden took a nearly 10-hour train ride to Kyiv because flying into a war zone is unsafe. After spending some time in the Ukrainian capital, the U.S. president proceeded on to his planned trip to Poland where he would meet President Andrzej&nbsp;Duda and the military leaders of NATO\u2019s Eastern Flank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Biden meets Zelenskyy in Kyiv. He reaffirms unwavering commitment of the U.S. to Ukraine\u2019s democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/71Tf8mGu3M\">pic.twitter.com\/71Tf8mGu3M<\/a><\/p>\u2014 IRIA (@IRIA_Research) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IRIA_Research\/status\/1627621920933048322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 20, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on February 20 an unannounced wartime visit only a few days before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[62,1,125],"tags":[342,208,357,54,7,22],"class_list":["post-14000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","category-united-states","tag-biden","tag-diplomacy","tag-europe","tag-poland","tag-u-s","tag-ukraine"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/US-Biden-meeting-Ukraine-Zelenskyy.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-3DO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14000"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14009,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14000\/revisions\/14009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}