On February 20, 2023, the president of the United States,Joe Biden, made a visit toKyiv, the capital ofUkraine, following the beginning of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2] Out of security concerns, his travel plans had not been made public prior to his arrival, and only two journalists accompanied him, having been sworn to secrecy three days earlier.[3][4]
The visit took place on the day Ukraine observes theHeavenly Hundred, on the eve of a scheduled major speech by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and four days ahead of the 1-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion. The trip lasted a total of 24 hours, the majority of which were taken by the long train rides. During the five hours of meetings in Kyiv, Biden announced another $500 million in military assistance toUkraine.
Biden's visit received a mixed reaction in the United States, split primarily along political party lines.[5][6][7] It was the first time in modern history that a sitting U.S. president has traveled to an activeconflict zone not controlled by the American military, and was the closest a president had come to a combat zone sinceAbraham Lincoln during theAmerican Civil War.[3]The Pentagon and theSecret Service opposed the visit to Kyiv.
On February 24, 2022, Russia begana full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[8] Throughout the war, the United States had been the largest supporter of Ukraine, committing over US$27 billion in security assistance since the invasion began.[9]
The Pentagon and theSecret Service opposed Biden visiting Kyiv, and there were rumors about a possible meeting near the Polish border or inLviv, Western Ukraine.[10] The visit also came during softening support for the U.S. supplying weapons to Ukraine, according to polls.[11][12][13]
Amid great secrecy, at about 4am EST on February 19, 2023, Biden departed theWhite House and travelled toJoint Base Andrews for a flight to thelocal airport atRzeszów,Poland, with a refueling stop atRamstein Air Base in Germany, on aBoeing C-32A with the call sign "SAM060". Upon arrival at Rzeszów and transfer by car toPrzemyśl, Biden boarded an overnighttrain to Kyiv, the method by which many world leaders visited the capital since the beginning of the invasion. This particular train was dubbed "Rail Force One".[14] The Russian government was informed prior to Biden's visit, but an identical ghost train was run simultaneously to the train carrying Biden on a different route to counter-intelligence.[14] The train ride lasted nearly 10 hours.[15] During Biden's five hours in Kyiv, he was transported in a black limousine rather than the usual armoredpresidential car.[16][17][18]
During his visit, Biden met withVolodymyr Zelenskyy, thepresident of Ukraine, andOlena Zelenska, theFirst Lady of Ukraine.[19] The White House stated the visit to an active warzone was unprecedented as the U.S. does not have a military presence in Ukraine, nor a significant diplomatic footprint in Kyiv.[20] The visit was the first in modern history that a US leader has traveled into a war zone not under control of the US military.[21][16][22]
Air-raid sirens blared in Kyiv while Biden and Zelenskyy were walking outside.[23] The sirens were triggered by a RussianMiG, carrying a hypersonic missile, taking off inBelarus.[23] There were no attacks on Kyiv during the visit.[23]
The trip preceded a scheduled visit to Europe, but the White House released a schedule about four hours after Biden entered Ukraine indicating he was still in Washington and was leaving for Europe that night. The visit took place on the day Ukraine remembers theHeavenly Hundred, on the eve of a scheduled major speech by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin and four days ahead of the 1-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion by Russia.[24][25][8] The US government believes that while Biden was in Ukraine, Russia conducted a test of anRS-28 SarmatICBM that failed. Russia gave the US advance notice of the test.[26][27][28]
Biden's trip in Ukraine lasted a total of 24 hours, the majority of which were taken by the long train rides.[29]Oleksandr Kamyshin, the CEO ofUkrainian Railways, said the company named the train "Rail Force One" and apologized for the delays caused to other passengers.[29] After the visit, Biden returned to Poland where he had a meeting with theBucharest Nine and delivered a speech inWarsaw.[30] He also condemned Russia's backing away from theNew START nuclear arms reduction treaty.[30]
Biden held a joint press conference with Zelenskyy atMariinskyi Palace, remarking that "One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you."[31][32][33]
Biden announced an additional military aid package ofUS$500 million for Ukraine, including ammunition for theHIMARS rocket launcher system.[19][34][35][36]
Luke Harding fromThe Guardian called the visit "arguably the most consequential made by any US president to a European country since the end of theCold War."[6]Anne Applebaum wrote inThe Atlantic that the visit was a message not only to Moscow, but also to European leaders as well as defense ministries and industries: "the paradigm has shifted, and the story has changed. The old "normal" is not coming back."[24]
Political scientistEliot A. Cohen compared the symbolism of the trip to PresidentJohn F. Kennedy or PresidentRonald Reagan at theBerlin Wall, and saw it as a gut punch to Putin, a leader "obsessed with strength".[37] Republicans criticized Biden's travel to a war zone that does not have a considerable American military presence, saying that Biden would have been better off going to theMexican border orEast Palestine, Ohio, that was recently affected by toxic waste released by acrashed train.[5] Biden previously visited the US–Mexico border wall inEl Paso on January 8, 2023.[38]
Ukrainian residents and officials welcomed the visit as a historic moment and Zelenskyy said it "is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians."[25]Andriy Yermak, the Head of theOffice of the President of Ukraine, said the visit also had strategic effect: "A lot of issues are being resolved and those that have been pending will be expedited".[25]
Former Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev dismissed the visit as an effort to increase the "huge quantities" of weapons and money already sent to Ukraine.[43] Many of Russia's military pundits reacted with anger or embarrassment.[43]
Igor Girkin suggested "the grandfather" could have gone to the heavily contestedBakhmut area without any personal danger.[43]
Journalist Sergey Mardan wrote that it was a "demonstrative humiliation of Russia."[43] A collective of service members noted the irony of Biden setting foot in Kyiv before Putin.[43]
Analysts as well as Polish PresidentAndrzej Duda saw the trip as an important morale boost for the Ukrainian soldiers.[10][44] After news of the visit broke, Japanese Prime MinisterFumio Kishida announced $5.5 billion in new financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.[45][46][47]
President Biden Visits Ukraine, February 20, 2023,C-SPAN
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