‘Kyiv stands’ — Biden In Ukraine

Washington D.C./20.02.23/Turan:    U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday made an unannounced visit to Kyiv, a gesture of solidarity that comes days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," Biden said in a statement.

"When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong," Biden noted.

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace, Biden recalled the fears that nearly a year ago that Putin's forces might quickly take the Ukrainian capital.

“One year later, Kyiv stands,” he said. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”

He turned to Zelenskyy, recalling their phone conversation on February 24, 2022: “You said that you didn’t know when we’d be able to speak again. That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Perhaps even the end of Ukraine.”

"Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map," Biden added. "Putin’s war of conquest is failing."

In Kyiv, Biden announced an additional half-billion dollars in U.S. assistance, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to "help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments," as he put it in a statement.

"And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine," he noted. "Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support – and that support will endure."

Zelensky thanked Biden for visiting in “the most difficult time” for Ukraine and said the two leaders held a wide discussion with their teams.

“This conversation brings us closer to victory,” Zelensky said. “Today our negotiations were very fruitful …They were very important and crucial.”

He noted the Russian military has lost half the territory it once occupied and that people were fleeing both from the Russian military and from Russia itself “because they see no future in their country.”

Biden departed Mariinsky Palace at 11:19 a.m. local time, and pulled up just a few minutes later at St. Michael’s Gold-Domed Cathedral in central Kyiv, where he and President Zelensky did an outdoor walkabout.

He then visited the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

"I also look forward to traveling on to Poland to meet President Duda and the leaders of our Eastern Flank Allies, as well as deliver remarks on how the United States will continue to rally the world to support the people of Ukraine and the core values of human rights and dignity in the UN Charter that unite us worldwide," he noted in a statement.

Alex Raufoglu