Biden secretly travels to Ukraine in show of support

(Image credit: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via Getty Images)

By Harold Maass, The Week US, Devika Rao, The Week US

published 20 February 2023

President Biden made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Monday in a show of solidarity with Ukraine several days ahead of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of the country.

Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced an additional half-billion dollars in U.S. aid, demonstrating America's commitment to helping Ukraine fight back against Russia. "One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands," Biden said.

The president reportedly left Washington, D.C., early Sunday morning with a few journalists who were "sworn to secrecy," according to The New York Times. An American official confirmed that Biden landed in Poland and crossed into Ukraine by train as it is currently unsafe to land directly in the country. Russia was also notified of Biden's visit to Kyiv "for deconfliction purposes," U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.

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