US President Joe Biden hugged Ukrainian counterpart President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit on Monday.
Mr Biden landed in the Ukrainian capital for a stop on a European trip to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Friday. "The cost that Ukraine has had to pay is extraordinarily high," he said. "Sacrifices have been far too great."
Air raid sirens rang out as Mr Biden, wearing aviator sunglasses, went on a walkabout of the city, laying a wreath at a memorial wall.
The leaders were also seen outside a cathedral, where burnt-out Russian tanks had been placed as a symbol of Moscow's failed assault on the capital at the outset of its invasion, when its forces swiftly reached the city's ramparts only to be turned back by unexpectedly fierce resistance.
Since then, tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides have died, cities have been reduced to rubble and millions of refugees have fled.
Russia claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine, while the West has committed tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Kyiv.
The visit was Mr Biden's first to Ukraine since the outbreak of war, and will be symbolically important to Mr Zelenskyy, who is asking western allies for fighter jets to repel Russian forces.
Anticipation had been building throughout the morning about the arrival of an important guest, with officials closing the main road in the Ukrainian capital briefly, causing traffic jams.
A 'great honour'
Mr Zelenskyy said it was “a great honour” to welcome Mr Biden to Ukraine.
“Our discussions and conversations bring us closer to victory. I hope 2023 will be year of victory against the unprovoked and criminal attack on Ukraine. It has to end with liberating the whole of the territory of Ukraine from Russia’s occupation,” he said.
“Together with Mr Biden and allies, we have to continue doing everything possible so democracy will win in this historic fight. We remain constantly in communication over the course of this large-scale war.”
The pair appeared at Mariinsky Palace, where Mr Biden announced an additional $500 million in US assistance as the conflict continues.
Freedom and democracy
Mr Biden said the war was about freedom and democracy in Europe and at large and he was there to show the US's “unwavering support” for Ukraine.
“We spoke on the telephone a year ago. You told me you could hear explosions in the background. I will never forget that. The world was about to change. I asked what can I do for you. How can I be of help,” Mr Biden said.
“You said ‘gather the leaders of the world, ask them to support Ukraine'. You said you didn’t know when we would be able to speak again.
“That dark night a year ago the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Perhaps even the end of Ukraine. One year later Kyiv stands. Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. America stands with you and the world stands with you. Kyiv has captured a part of my heart.”
He said Mr Putin’s “war of conquest” is failing.
“The military has lost half the territory it once occupied.
“Its young are fleeing, not just from military but from Russia itself because they see no future in their country. Russia’s economy is now a backwater, isolated and struggling. He thought he could outlast us, but I don’t think he is thinking that now. He was plain wrong. The evidence is here. We stand here together,” said Mr Biden.
The visit comes just a day before Russia's President Vladimir Putin's scheduled major address, setting out aims for the second year of what he now calls a proxy war against the armed might of Washington and NATO.
"Of course, for the Kremlin this will be seen as further proof that the United States has bet on Russia's strategic defeat in the war and that the war itself has turned irrevocably into a war between Russia and the West," said Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political analyst.
"Tomorrow's address was expected to be very hawkish, targeted at a demonstrative rupture of relations with the West. Now additional edits could be introduced to make it even tougher."
New support
The new US package includes artillery ammunition, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radar.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr Biden said: “Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine.
“I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radar to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments.
“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. 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.”
His arrival was welcomed by Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko on Twitter.
“Yes, confirmed @POTUS in #Kyiv. Welcome Mr President! Looking forward to the announcements following the air raid sirens experience,” she wrote.
Mr Biden will also visit Poland, where he will discuss bilateral co-operation with President Andrzej Duda, and meet Nato leaders to underscore Washington's support for the alliance.
Casualties
Russia is trying to secure full control of two eastern provinces forming Ukraine's Donbas industrial region.
It has launched assaults at locations running from Kreminna in the north down to Vuhledar in the south, securing its biggest gains around the mining city of Bakhmut.
Kyiv, which is absorbing a major influx of Western weaponry in coming months for a planned counter-offensive, has lately stuck mainly to defence on the battlefield, claiming to be inflicting huge casualties on the assaulting Russian forces.
Moscow received its own apparent signal of diplomatic support on Monday, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expected in the Russian capital for talks.
In public, China has so far remained neutral over the conflict despite signing a "no limits" friendship pact with Russia weeks before the invasion.
Washington has said in recent days it is concerned Beijing could begin supplying Moscow with arms. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the United States was "in no position to make demands of China", and China's "comprehensive collaborative partnership with Russia" was a matter for two independent states.
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, earlier said that he told China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, during talks in Munich at the weekend that the bloc has “strong concern” about Beijing supplying weapons to Russia and if China armed Kremlin forces that would be a “red line.”
Mr Biden joins a host of other western leaders to have made the trip to Kyiv since the start of the war, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Source: The National
Image: AFP
