On a trip to Poland this week, a few days before the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his Ukrainian neighbor, US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kiev, thus reiterating his “unwavering” support for his Ukrainian ally. .
On the spot, the American promised no less than 500 million dollars of additional weapons, “in particular artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems and air surveillance radars”, assured the American president, according to a press release from the White House, for his first visit to Ukraine.
“I thought it was essential that there be no doubt about the support of the United States for Ukraine,” said the American president during a press briefing with President Volodymyr Zelensky at the about his visit to the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine is in dire need of long-range ammunition for its artillery and tanks to oppose a new Russian offensive and to launch its own assaults and retake the territories occupied by the Moscow army in the East and the South.
An “extremely important sign” for Zelensky
This first visit to kyiv by Joe Biden follows those of many European leaders in the Ukrainian capital and that of Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington in December. The latter hailed it as an “extremely important sign of support”, before adding to the press that the two counterparts will discuss this Monday “how to win (the war) this year”.
According to him, American military support for Ukraine demonstrates that Russia “has no chance of winning” the war. Anti-aircraft alerts also sounded Monday during the visit of the American president, noted AFP journalists.
The American president also expressed his admiration for the resilience of the Ukrainians in the face of the invader. “It’s more than heroic,” slipped Joe Biden.
The US president’s visit comes as Ukraine faces escalating fighting in the east of the country, with Russia hoping to break through to the front to regain the initiative after humiliating setbacks in the fall. Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver an important speech to him on Tuesday in Moscow, which is expected to be largely devoted to the war in Ukraine.