White House notified Russia of Biden's trip to Ukraine
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US President Joe Biden (centre) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, on Feb 20.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON - The White House notified Russia of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Russia was notified of Mr Biden’s trip “for deconfliction purposes” a few hours before his departure.
Mr Biden on Monday made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, promising to stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary.
During the trip, Mr Biden met Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and the two discussed the war and its needs in terms of energy, infrastructure, and economic and humanitarian support, Mr Sullivan said.
Mr Biden was also briefed by members of Mr Zelensky’s team on the assistance needed going forward from the United States and its international partners, he said.
White House officials said the trip was logistically complicated because of the lack of American military presence on the ground and was different from trips American presidents have made in the past to war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Biden wanted to stand “next to President Zelensky in a free Kyiv to not just tell but show the world... that Ukraine is successfully resisting a Russian aggression”, Mr Sullivan said.
A year ago, Mr Biden warned skeptical allies that a massive build-up of Russian troops along Ukraine’s borders was the precursor to war.
At the time, even some inside his own government questioned the ability of the Ukrainians to withstand an invasion, predicting the imminent fall of the capital Kyiv.
Instead, Ukrainian fighters have held the capital and continue to resist Russian attempts to control territory, helped by a massive influx of Western weapons, ammunition and equipment.
The war has become a grinding conflict that US officials say could last for months or even years.
Since the start of the war, the United States has sent over US$24 billion (S$32 billion) in security assistance to help Kyiv. In January, the United States said it will supply Ukraine with 31 advanced M1 Abrams tanks worth US$400 million in a matter of months.
Offering similar support and keeping the war from escalating into a potentially wider conflict with Nato will be one of Mr Biden’s key foreign policy tests in the months to come, foreign policy experts have said. REUTERS
