One of President Joe Biden’s top advisers has dismissed Russian claims that the Kremlin guaranteed his safety ahead of a clandestine trip to Kiev on Monday.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed Moscow had been briefed on the President’s planned trip to avoid any misunderstandings.
“They confirmed receipt,” he told reporters a day later in Warsaw, Poland. ‘End of the story.’
Biden’s visit was secret. He flew out of Washington early Sunday morning before landing in Poland and making the 10-hour train journey to Ukraine’s war-torn capital.
He promised more arms for Ukraine and delivered a publicity coup for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, much to the ire of Moscow.
President Joe Biden (left) sits across from his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan (left) as he takes a 10-hour train from Poland to Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday night
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council and former Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel: “Biden finally went to Kiev, having previously received security guarantees.
“He promised many weapons and swore allegiance to the neo-Nazi regime to the grave. And, of course, there were mutual incantations of victory, which will come with new weapons and brave people.”
But it’s nonsense to say there are any guarantees, said Sullivan, who accompanied Biden on the trip.
He explained that Moscow had been notified to ensure they did not misunderstand the increase in security activity in the region.
“Just to let them know he would be there during that time,” he said. “And the means by which he traveled, and then he would be on that schedule, the means by which he traveled.
“We have transmitted this information.”
The Russians didn’t respond, he said, “except to acknowledge receipt of the notification.”
The White House announced a day earlier that it had warned the Kremlin about Biden’s trip.
Sullivan said it was for “conflict purposes” before Biden went to an active war zone where the US has no military presence and only a few embassy staff.
Some MAGA-leaning Republicans at home grumbled that Biden made the trip instead of visiting East Palestine, Ohio, where a toxic train derailment took place earlier this month.
President Joe Biden (center) poses for a photo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) and Olena Zelenska (left) outside the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine Monday
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the Kremlin had been briefed on Biden’s trips to Kiev before he arrived. Russian President Vladimir Putin is photographed on Thursday
President Joe Biden (left) walks alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) in front of the gold-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral during Monday’s surprise trip to Kiev
“When our border is in crisis, Joe Biden goes home to nap in Delaware. As Ohio burns with toxic chemicals, Biden’s admin says everything is fine. So on President’s Day I am not surprised that Biden is dumping America in favor of Ukraine,” Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeted. “From the beginning of his presidency, he has abandoned America’s interests. You can keep him!’
Other Republicans accused Biden of caring more about Ukraine’s border than the US-Mexico border.
“Breathtaking that President Biden can show up in Ukraine to make sure her border is secure but can’t do the same for America,” tweeted Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sang a similar tune.
“I think I, and a lot of Americans think of us, think he’s very worried about those borders on the other side of the world. He’s not doing anything to secure our own border here at home,” DeSantis said during an appearance on Fox & Friends.
“He let millions and millions of people pour in, tens of thousands of Americans died,” DeSantis added, referring to the fentanyl trade that has skyrocketed the number of U.S. drug overdoses.
Democrats, on the other hand, largely praised Biden for making the trip.
Sullivan and other White House officials revealed some details about planning the trip after Biden departed Ukraine’s capital on Monday.
“We informed the Russians that President Biden was going to Kiev. We did this a few hours before he left to resolve conflicts,” Sullivan said.
He gave no details of what the US had specifically said to the Russians.
“And because of the sensitive nature of these communications, I won’t go into detail on how they responded or what the exact nature of our message was, but I can confirm that we provided that notification,” he said on the call.
The White House was also secretive about Biden’s means of travel.
“We’re going to share it, but we just want to make sure we do it as soon as we feel it’s safe to do so,” Sullivan said.
WRONG TRAIN, JOE: Republicans complained that President Joe Biden’s priority should have been the city of East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailment caused a major environmental disaster. Biden is shown aboard the train that took him to Ukraine on Monday
President Joe Biden took the smaller Air Force One, an Air Force C-32, for the secret trip. Instead of flying the call sign of Air Force One, it carried the designation “SAM060” for Special Air Mission
The New York Times, however, reported that Biden crossed the border by rail.
Later, the press pool of two reported that Biden flew to Poland on the smaller Air Force One, an Air Force C-32, not one of the Boeing 747s he would normally take with him on international trips.
The plane sat next to a hangar in the dark instead of being parked on the tarmac where the presidential plane is parked before an official departure.
The aircraft did not fly the call sign of Air Force One, but rather the call sign “SAM060” for Special Air Mission.
It was refueled at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and the blinds were kept closed during the hour and a half on the ground.
After Biden’s plane left Germany, pilots turned off his transponder for the one-hour remainder of the journey to Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in Poland, which was used for other VIP visits and for Western weapons to get into the war-torn country.
Biden then boarded a train at Przemyśl Główny station for a 10-hour journey through the night that would take him clandestinely to the Ukrainian capital.
Upon arrival in Kiev, Biden was driven around in a black SUV instead of the Beast, the nickname for the presidential armored limousine.
The trip was supposed to remain secret until Biden left the Ukrainian capital, but that changed when locals began taking and sharing pictures of Biden and Zelenskyy walking around.
President Joe Biden walks across the platform in Kiev after his visit to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday
President Joe Biden (left) and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) at the Mariinsky Palace during Monday’s trip
President Joe Biden (left) and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) walk past St. Mikhailovsky’s Cathedral in Kiev on Monday
President Joe Biden (left) signs a guest book at the Mariinsky Palace Monday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) looks on
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden stand next to a plaque bearing the president’s name on the Alley of Bravery in Kiev February 20, 2023.
Even within the ranks of the American government, the trip was a closely guarded secret.
Those involved in the planning came from the White House, the Office of the Chief of Staff, the National Security Council, the White House Military Office, the Pentagon, the Secret Service, and the intelligence agencies.
“Only a handful of people in each of these buildings were involved in operational security planning,” Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer told reporters.
Travel was complicated by the lack of American military personnel in Ukraine and only a sparse US Embassy staff.
“The United States also has a very small embassy area compared to the massive operations in Afghanistan and Iraq during presidential war visits to those locations,” Finer said.
Additionally, the president was traveling with an “extremely small” group, Finer said, which consisted of a handful of his closest associates, including Sullivan, a small medical team, security guards and two reporters.
The two reporters – a newspaper reporter and a photographer – had their phones taken away upon departure.
The rest of Biden’s press pool – which normally consists of around a dozen journalists – was left in Washington.
For days, the White House had publicly stated that the trip to mark the anniversary of the Ukraine war would be solely to Warsaw, Poland, where the president was due to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda and the leaders of the Bucharest Nine Nations.
This part of the trip is expected to continue as planned.