KYIV: The US president Joe Biden landed in Ukraine on Monday in a display of strong American support for the war-ravaged country ahead of the Russian invasion’s one-year anniversary.
The dramatic trip will come as a surprise to many as the US president has been due to visit Poland, and the White House said last week that Biden had no intention of crossing the border to neighbouring Ukraine.
Biden is one of the last of the Western leaders to visit Kyiv, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz previously travelling to the country.
There have been speculations throughout the morning that a high-ranking Western official might visit Kyiv.
The news of Biden’s arrival was confirmed by Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko on Twitter.
The US president was spotted outside St. Michael Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kyiv under tight security lockdown
A tight security lockdown had been put in place in the Ukrainian capital, with car traffic halted and even pedestrians blocked from entering certain streets. Shortly afterward, an air raid siren went off in the city.
Biden has insisted continuing US support to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” despite weakening support among the American public and no near-term prospects of peace talks to resolve the conflict.
