20 February 2023 , 10:06
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Joe Biden has arrived in Ukraine, for the first time, for a surprise visit for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The US president visited Kyiv for the first time since the war in Ukraine began nearly a year ago and his public itinerary suggested he would be visiting Poland, so his visit to Ukraine’s capital has come as a surprise.
He is the first US president to visit Ukraine since George W. Bush in 2008 and the visit comes only four days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Biden arrived in Kyiv following an hour’s long train ride from the border with Poland.
More missile attacks are expected and the visit carries a very high-security risk, with air raid sirens going off as the presidents were walking in central Kyiv.
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US President Joe Biden (L) walks next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) (AFP via Getty Images)Mr Biden and Mr Zelensky visited St Michael’s Cathedral and laid flowers at the nearby Heavenly Hundred memorial to Ukrainians killed in the 2014 Maidan Revolution.
He and Mr Zelensky visited St Michael’s monastery as an air raid warning sounded across the city, in a move which the NYT said was: “a demonstration of his administration’s resolve in the face of Russia’s yearlong invasion of the country”.
Zelensky said he and Biden discussed long-range weapons and Biden said Ukraine will get a new military aid package worth $500 million (£415m) to be announced on Tuesday.
Zelensky said he and Biden discussed long-range weapons (Evan Vucci/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image to the Telegram messaging app of him together with Mr Biden, alongside the message “Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians.”
Zelensky spoke first, in English, thanking Americans for their support. Mr Biden spoke of the importance of the President of the US being in Ukraine on the anniversary of the war and said it’s critical that there not be any doubt about US support.
He said: “For all the disagreement we have in our Congress on some issues, there is significant agreement on support for Ukraine. It’s not just about freedom in Ukraine, it’s about democracy at large.”
Joe Biden met Volodymr Zelensky on a surprise visit to Kyiv (Zelenskiy / Official/Telegram)"Security concerns" mean that Joe Biden's real-time movements in Kyiv are not being shared, it has emerged.
"Due to security concerns, the pool has agreed not to share real-time updates on the president's movements," the pool travel report says.
"Full details of how he got here and methods of transportation are also being held until the president is safely out of the country," it says.
In his speech, Biden recalled how he and Zelensky spoke by phone as “Russian planes were in the air and tanks were going across your border.”
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On Saturday evening, before he departed, Biden went out to dinner with his wife in Washington and he wasn't seen in public again until arriving in Kyiv on Monday morning.
Biden visited Ukraine six times as vice president and he has remained the highest-ranking US delegate to visit Ukraine since neither Vice President Pence nor President Trump ever visited.