Biden Visits Kyiv, Ukraine on President’s Day
Surprise! While many Americans enjoyed the final respite of a three-day weekend, United States President Joe Biden made an announced visit to Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday February 20, 2023. His visit was the first time in modern history that a U.S. leader visited an active warzone without protection provided by the United States' military.
President Biden’s trip was shrouded in secrecy. It involved a great deal of planning and an even greater security detail than the typical detail for his foreign trips. Media members who accompanied President Biden agreed to withhold real-time details of the president’s movements. He arrived in Kyiv around 8 a.m. local time Monday aboard a train that traveled overnight from neighboring Poland.
Biden spent about five hours in Kyiv, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials. The two leaders visited St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery and then walked to the nearby Wall of Remembrance, a memorial honoring those who have died in the nation’s conflict with Russia in the nearly year-long war. In joint remarks, President Zelensky said, “This is the most important visit in the whole history of the Ukraine-U.S. relationship.”
President Biden stated that the United States would provide $500 million of assistance to Ukraine. This assistance will take the form of more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (“HIMARS”) in Ukraine’s possession, air surveillance radars, and anti-armor weapons that include Javelin shoulder-launched missiles that can destroy tanks and other military vehicles. In total, the United States has provided $30 billion worth of assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Despite this assistance, Ukrainian leaders keep pressing for more sophisticated weaponry to more effectively halt the Russian military’s onslaught.
The high-risk, but brief, visit signaled a commitment from the United States to back Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russian invaders from its territory. Despite being only a handful of hours in length, President Biden’s visit has been referred to as one of the most remarkable presidential trips in modern history. Before today’s visit, President Biden had only dispatched senior aides, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, to Ukraine. Also, First Lady Jill Biden made an unannounced visit to western Ukraine on Mother’s Day. On her trip, she spent two hours in the border town of Uzhhorod and met Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.
President Biden’s unannounced trip was not met with universal acclaim domestically. Republican lawmakers quickly criticized the trip. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla, said, "When our border is in crisis, Joe Biden goes home to nap in Delaware. When Ohio burns with toxic chemicals, Biden’s admin says everything is fine.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. tweeted on Monday. “Today on our President’s Day, Joe Biden, the President of the United States chose Ukraine over America, while forcing the American people to pay for Ukraine’s government and war.