President Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine [Video]

The New York Times reports:

President Biden made a surprise trip to the besieged capital of Ukraine on Monday, traveling under a cloak of secrecy into a war zone to demonstrate what he called America’s “unwavering support” of the effort to beat back Russian forces nearly a year after they invaded the country.

Mr. Biden arrived unannounced early Monday morning to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the two stepped out into the streets of Kyiv even as an air-raid siren sounded, a dramatic moment captured on video that underscored the investment the United States has made in Ukraine’s independence.

“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Mr. Biden declared at Mr. Zelensky’s side in Mariinsky Palace. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.”

CNN reports:



As traffic stood still in Kyiv on Monday morning, rumors were flying. The talk of the town: a high-profile visitor is on the way. Nobody knew for sure who the VIP might be, but security preparations suggested it was a top-level visit; perhaps the highest level of all.

Multiple streets in the city center were shut down by police and the military presence was unusually high early on Monday, even for the capital city of a war-torn country.

The roads around St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in the heart of Kyiv were cleared overnight and sealed off early in the morning, causing traffic jams in the surrounding streets. Then, at around noon local time, it was announced: US President Joe Biden was in the country.