high-risk travel
Report: U.S. considering sending high-level official to Kyiv
The United States is considering sending a high-level official to Ukraine in the near future, as a sign of solidarity with the country amid its war with Russia, a person with knowledge of the matter told The New York Times on Wednesday.
The official would go to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Since the start of the war, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have visited neighboring countries, but no U.S. official has publicly entered Ukraine.
The person familiar with the matter told the Times that because of security concerns, it's highly unlikely Biden or Harris would make the high-risk trip to Kyiv. Instead, the idea of sending a Cabinet or senior military member, who would need a smaller security team, is being explored. Typically, when a senior U.S. official visits a war zone, it isn't announced until they arrive — and in the most sensitive cases, it isn't made public until they have left.
Several world leaders have met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv this month, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Estonian President Alar Karis, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Polish President Andrzej Duda, and Latvian President Egils Levits.