US President Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Kiev on Monday and pledged new weapons and “unwavering” support to his Ukrainian ally days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.
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“I will announce the delivery of other important equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radars,” Trump said in a White House press release on his first visit to Ukraine.
During a press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he mentioned $500 million in additional aid, details of which will be announced in the coming days.
“I thought it was important that there was no doubt about the United States’ support for Ukraine,” he said again of his visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine urgently needs long-range ammunition for its artillery and tanks in order to resist a new Russian offensive, launch its own attacks and retake areas in the east and south held by the Moscow army.
This first visit by Mr. Biden to Kiev follows the visit of many European leaders to the Ukrainian capital and Mr. Zelensky’s visit to Washington in December.
Mr. Zelensky hailed this as “an extremely important sign of support”. He also told the press, along with the US President, that the two men wanted to discuss “how to win (the war) this year.”
According to him, American military support for Ukraine shows that Russia “has no chance of winning the war”.
Anti-aircraft warnings were also raised during the US President’s visit on Monday, AFP journalists noted.
Joe Biden was with President Zelensky and was coming out of a church where they had been for a few minutes when the sirens sounded without causing panic.
The US President also expressed his admiration for the Ukrainians’ resilience to the invaders.
“It’s beyond heroic,” he said.
The US President’s visit comes as Ukraine faces escalating fighting in the east of the country and Russia is hoping to break through to the front lines to regain the initiative after humiliating setbacks in the autumn.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver a key speech in Moscow on Tuesday, which is expected to be largely devoted to the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin lord launched the invasion of his neighbor on February 24, 2022, claiming that Kiev is orchestrating a genocide against the Russian-speaking population in the east and that the west wants to use Ukrainian territory to weaken Russia.