- James Waterhouse, Alice Cody, and Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC
It is Biden’s first visit to Ukraine after assuming the US presidency
US President Joe Biden said Washington will support Ukraine in its fight against Russia “as long as it takes.”
Biden’s remarks came during an unannounced visit, and bear symbolic significance to Kiev.
“We have full confidence that you will continue to win,” he said.
Biden, on the visit, which comes days before the first anniversary of the invasion, said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “completely wrong” when he thought Russia could hold out against Ukraine and its Western allies.
“When Putin launched his invasion about a year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could hold out against us. But he was wrong,” Biden added.
Biden met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two visited a memorial erected in memory of soldiers killed since Russia annexed Crimea and its forces seized areas in the eastern Donbass region.
A statement from the White House said Biden’s visit aims to reaffirm “America’s unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
The New York Times reported that the US president took a 10-hour train ride from Poland to reach Kiev.
Biden is expected to announce more military support to Ukraine, including ammunition and air surveillance radars.
A new package of sanctions will be announced this week against companies and individuals that “seek to evade or support the Russian war machine.”
Zelinsky said: “The results of this visit will certainly appear and will undoubtedly be reflected on the battlefield in the liberation of our lands.”
He added that the two leaders discussed the possibility of sending other weapons that Kiev has not yet obtained.
Zelensky has repeatedly called for the supply of F-16 fighter jets to his country, a move that the United States and other allies have not yet agreed to.
Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Adviser, and a member of Biden’s team, said that Washington informed Russia of the trip a few hours before the US president left for “deconfliction purposes.”
He refused to comment on Moscow’s response to the news of the visit.
White House officials said planning for the trip took place “months” in advance, and that the final decision on the visit was made on Friday.
In a scene that added a dramatic dimension to the most prominent visit to Ukraine since the start of the war, sirens sounded while Biden and Zelensky were in St. Michael’s Cathedral in central Kiev.
image copyright Archyde.com
Biden laid a wreath in memory of soldiers killed during the nine years of conflict since Russia annexed Crimea
Although some other world leaders have visited Ukraine over the past year, the US president’s visit to Kiev, in the midst of a war in which no US soldiers are fighting, is a show of solidarity at a time when Russia says Western support for Ukraine is waning.
Ukrainians welcomed this visit in Kiev.
“I am very grateful for his support, it means a lot to us,” a resident, Roxoliana Gera, told the BBC.
She added, “I appreciate his courage, because he accepted this challenge and came to show the support of the American nation.”
Another compatriot, Oleksandra Solovyova, said the visit was “an important sign for the whole world.”
She added, “For Russia in the first place, this shows that the United States supports us and will continue to support us with sanctions and the provision of military equipment.”
The United States is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies and has so far announced a military aid package worth $24.9 billion, according to the US State Department.
Last January, Biden announced that Washington would send 31 combat tanks and long-range missiles to Ukraine.
Despite this, there is a growing political division in the United States over how much aid Kiev should receive in the future.
Biden’s visit to Kiev comes before a three-day visit to Poland, during which he will meet the country’s president, Andrzej Duda, and members of Eastern Europe in the NATO military alliance.
image copyright EPA
Biden had arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, days before the first anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion nearly a year ago.
Some speculation earlier Monday indicated the arrival of an important guest in Kiev, as roads were closed in parts of the center of the Ukrainian capital.
Zelensky posted a photo on his official Telegram account shaking hands with Biden.
“Joseph Biden, welcome to Kiev! Your visit is a very important sign of support for all Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.
An earlier statement said that Biden and Zelensky would have a “lengthy discussion” about US support for Ukraine and that he would announce more “significant equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-tank systems and air-surveillance radars” to aid Ukraine’s defense.
The statement added that there would be more sanctions against Russia, and that “unprecedented military, economic and humanitarian support” by the “coalition of nations” to help defend Ukraine “will continue.”
Before a press conference, Biden said he was “looking forward to discussing the world” with Zelensky.
He also commended the citizens of Ukraine for their “heroic” fight despite a lack of military experience.
“Once again my admiration for the people of Ukraine, for the ordinary, hardworking citizens, who never trained in the military, but whose courage is beyond heroic, and the whole world thinks so,” Biden said.