US President Joe Biden, who is on an unannounced visit to Kyiv , has said the US will support Ukraine’s fight against Russia “for as long as it takes”.
“We have every confidence that you will prevail,” he said.
Mr. Biden’s first visit to Ukraine as president came days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “dead wrong” in thinking Russia could outrun Ukraine and its Western allies.
He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the pair visited a memorial to soldiers who have died in the nine years since Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its proxy forces’ seizure of parts of the eastern Donbass region. have done
According to a statement from the White House, the purpose of Mr. Biden’s presence was to reaffirm the unwavering commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
He secretly took a 10-hour train journey from Poland to Kyiv, later returning to Poland. A US official said Russia was informed of the trip hours before President Biden’s departure for “conflicting purposes”.
After the visit, US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken announced a new security aid package for Ukraine worth $450m (£373m), including howitzer and Humars rocket systems, Javelin missiles and aerial surveillance radars. Ammunition included.
Mr. Blanken said the United States would also provide an additional $10 million in emergency aid to Kyiv to maintain Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
A new wave of sanctions against individuals and companies “trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” will also be announced later this week.
Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine’s victory over Russia depends on determination, and he saw such determination in Mr. Biden.
“Now and in Ukraine, the fate of the world order is being decided, which is based on rules, on humanity…” he said.
He also said that the two leaders have also discussed the possibility of sending other weapons. Mr Zielinski has repeatedly called for F-16 fighter jets, which the US and other allies have so far refused to approve.
Commenting on the trip, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said failure would befall those who, as she put it, “sold their lives to the Americans”.
In a scene that added drama to the most high-profile visit to Ukraine since the war began, air raid sirens sounded as President Biden and Mr Zelensky were at St Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv. Sirens ring regularly in the city.
While other world leaders have visited Ukraine over the past year, the US president’s appearance in Kyiv during a war in which US troops are not fighting is a show of solidarity at a time when Russia says That Western support for Ukraine is waning.
Ukrainians in Kyiv welcomed the visit.
“I’m very grateful for their support – it means a lot to us,” Roxuliana Guerra told JEE News. “I admire his courage, that he accepted this challenge and came to show support for the American people.”
Oleksandra Solovova said the visit showed Russia that “the United States supports us and will continue to support us with sanctions and military equipment”.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, said that the visit was strategic as well as historical. He said that many problems are being solved and those that have stalled will be speeded up.
The United States is one of Ukraine’s biggest allies, and the State Department has announced $24.9 billion in military aid so far.
In January, Mr. Biden announced that the United States would send 31 battle tanks and that long-range missiles were on their way.
However, political divisions are growing in the US over the amount of future aid to Kyiv.
President Biden’s visit to Kyiv comes ahead of a three-day visit to Poland where he will meet with the country’s President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European members of the NATO military alliance.
In another development, China’s foreign minister said Beijing is deeply concerned about the risk of the war in Ukraine escalating and spiraling out of control.
