Biden came to Kyiv to see Zelensky

12:54 20.02.2023 CIS

Presidents of Ukraine and the United States Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden met in Kyiv. Zelensky himself announced this on his Telegram channel.

This is Biden's first visit to Kyiv since the outbreak of full-scale hostilities in Ukraine. Street closures and traffic jams were observed in Kyiv in the morning, however, Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky said that the reason for this was the visit of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva.

Air raid sirens sounded during Biden's visit to Kyiv

The leaders of the United States and Ukraine visited St. Michael's Cathedral, where they laid flowers. Biden and Zelensky walked along Mikhailovskaya Square accompanied by guards to the sound of an air raid alert. After laying flowers, Zelensky and Biden embraced in front of the memorial to those who died for Ukraine. Along with Biden, his national security adviser John Sullivan also arrived.

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During a trip to Kyiv, Biden's statement appeared on the White House website. It says that the American leader is visiting Kyiv for talks with Zelensky. This visit confirms the US commitment to support Ukraine's sovereignty. Biden also promised that Ukraine would receive a new $500 million military aid package, the contents of which would be announced on February 21. It is already known that it will include artillery ammunition, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radars.

Biden also announced the expansion of sanctions against "elites and companies that support the Russian military machine."

Over the past year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support—and that support will continue.

Joe BidenPresident of the United States Biden's visit was prepared in an atmosphere of strict secrecy

According to the American edition of the New York Times, on the evening of February 19, the White House released a public schedule for Monday, according to which Biden is still in Washington and was supposed to leave for Warsaw in the evening. At the time of this announcement, the US president was already in Poland's capital.

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From the border with Poland to Kyiv, Biden traveled by train. The visit was carried out secretly for security reasons. Zelensky has previously said that Biden's visit to Ukraine is hampered by "certain moments" that are related to security.

After a visit to Ukraine, Biden will again go to Poland

The US President plans to meet with Polish leader Andrzej Duda and other heads of US allies in Eastern Europe. With this meeting, he plans to emphasize that the United States will continue to unite the world in support of Ukraine.

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Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki reported that Washington and Warsaw are negotiating the possibility of increasing the American military presence in Poland. According to him, Warsaw is discussing with the Biden administration the possibility of a US military presence in the country on a permanent basis. In the US, Poland is called the main military partner with the most promising army in the EU. According to Politico, Poland already possesses more tanks and howitzers than Germany, the country with the largest army in the European Union at present.

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