U.S. President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday (February 20), a major show of support ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's special military operation which has seen Moscow launch a massive assault across frontlines in the east, Reuters reports.
Air raid sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital as Biden visited Kyiv, but there were no reports of Russian missile or air strikes.
President Volodymyr Zelenksiy said he and Biden discussed long range weapons during the visit. The White House said Biden would announce more sanctions on Russia and military support for Ukraine.
Biden arrived in the Ukrainian capital a day before President Vladimir Putin was due to make a major address, expected to set out Russia's aims for the second year of the conflict he launched on Feb 24 last year.
"As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
When Putin 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.
Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine. I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments. And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine. Over the last 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 endure.
I also look forward to traveling on to Poland to meet President Duda and the leaders of our Eastern Flank Allies, as well as deliver remarks on how the United States will continue to rally the world to support the people of Ukraine and the core values of human rights and dignity in the UN Charter that unite us worldwide," Biden stated, the
White House reports.
