Biden in Kyiv to show solidarity as Ukraine war nears one year

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv Monday. Pic/AP

US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit Monday to Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky, a gesture of solidarity that comes days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of the country.

Biden met Zelensky at Mariinsky Palace to announce an additional half-billion dollars in U.S. assistance and to reassure Ukraine of American and allied support as the conflict continues. "One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands," Biden said.

The Ukraine visit comes at a crucial moment in the war as Biden looks to keep allies unified in their support for Ukraine as the war is expected to intensify with both sides preparing for spring offensives. Zelensky is pressing allies to speed up delivery of pledged weapon systems and calling on the West to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine - something that Biden to date has declined to do.

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Biden's mission with his visit to Kyiv, and then Warsaw, is to underscore that the US is prepared to stick with Ukraine "as long as it takes" to repel Russian forces even as public opinion polling suggests that U.S. and allied support for providing weaponry and direct economic assistance has started to soften. For Zelensky, having the U.S. president stand side by side with him on Ukrainian land as the anniversary nears is no small thing as he prods U.S. and European allies to provide more advanced weaponry and to step up the pace of delivery.

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