President Biden Surprises President Zelenskyy With Kyiv Visit to Show Solidarity and Support

By Yehudit Garmaise

President Joe Biden surprised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with an unannounced visit to convey the U.S.’s solidarity with the country that is still bravely battling the Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24, 2022.

Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unrelenting aggression against Ukrainian citizens in the last year “a brutal and unjust war,” Biden requested to meet with Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace, the official residence of the Ukrainian president.

Covering his bases shortly before his departure from Washington, DC, to Kyiv, Biden’s administration notified Putin officials that the US president would be visiting Zelenskyy “for de-confliction purposes” to prevent any miscommunications that could, G-d forbid, bring the two nuclear-armed nations into a direct conflict.

For five hours, Biden and Zelenskyy capital plotted the next steps, visited with U.S. embassy staff who work in Kyiv, and honored Ukrainian fallen soldiers, reported the Associated Press. 

“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Biden declared in front of three flags from each the US and Ukraine to show his solidarity with President Zelenskyy. “Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

As Western allies, whom Biden continually works to unify in their support for Ukraine, fear the warmer weather will cause Putin to intensify spring offensives, Zelenskyy has been pressing allies to speed up their deliveries of advanced weapons.

Although Biden has declined to provide fighter jets, the US president announced that the US will provide a half-billion dollars in assistance: to add to the $50 billion already provided for Ukraine to purchase shells for howitzers, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars, and other military equipment.

Just as he was getting ready to take leave of the Ukrainian president whose country Russian soldiers have besieged for 12 months, air raid sirens howled, and Zelenskyy returned to defending his country.

Photo Credit: Flickr