Asserting “an unwavering commitment” in Kiev on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden pledged $500 million in addition to assistance to the war-torn country from a faucet of US money most Americans it’s hard to keep track.
The White House said the package includes artillery munitions, anti-armor systems and air surveillance radar “to help protect the people of Ukraine from aerial bombardment”.
Live updates: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
“The United States will stand with the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes,” Biden said, adding, “Kyiv has captured a part of my heart.”
But it turns out that what protected Biden in Kiev, where air raid sirens rang just as he emerged from a historic cathedral with Ukrainian President Zelensky, was last-hour direct communication with Moscow about his impending visit.
Amid many scheduling subterfuges that involved deceiving all but a few close aides, Biden left Washington on Sunday — even though the White House schedule still showed him in the U.S. capital — and flew to Poland where he would arrive on Tuesday. He then made an unscheduled 10-hour train ride to Kiev from the Polish border.
US officials said the White House warned Russia of Biden’s visit hours before he entered Ukraine to “deconflict” the situation.
As it turned out, there was a tricky moment during the visit when air raid sirens went off, reportedly by a Russian Mig-31 fighter that was spotted taking off in Belarus. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman was quoted as telling reporters in Kiev that the jet was equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile that Ukraine lacks the capability to shoot down.
In Moscow, Russian commentators said the Kremlin showed magnanimity in not carrying out an attack while the US president was there, suggesting that Biden’s bravado was meant to impress domestic audiences in America.
Many Americans, especially those on the right, were unimpressed.
“This is incredibly offensive. Today our president chose Ukraine over America as he forces the American people to pay for Ukraine’s rule and war,” Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted.
Cheering at the high-stakes visit, Biden’s aides and supporters described it as an “incredible act of courage,” even as the US president got out of Kiev safely.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the visit “was not a celebration but an affirmation” of America’s commitment to Ukraine and the “resilience of the Ukrainian people”. The president decided that sending that message was worth the risk of traveling to a country at war, he added.
“This was an unprecedented historic visit in modern times to see the President of the United States visit the capital of a war-torn country where the US military does not control critical infrastructure,” Sullivan said.
Claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a number of miscalculations in his invasion of Ukraine, including expecting a rift between the United States and its allies, Biden told Kiev: “He (Putin) thought he could to survive. I don’t think he’s thinking that now.
Biden’s visit to Kiev came at the same time Beijing sent its top diplomat Wang Yi to Moscow amid concern in the United States that China would start supplying Russia with weapons to subjugate Ukraine.
US officials say Washington has information that China is going down this path and has warned Beijing against doing so.
“China understands what it risks if it proceeds to provide material support of this kind to Russia,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Beijing in turn has asked the United States to stay out of Sino-Russia relations.
