The United States has offered this Monday the greatest symbol of political adherence to Ukraine since the war began.
In a risky and historic visit this Monday to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, US President Joe Biden met his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky, just four days after the first anniversary of the invasion launched by Vladimir Putin.
The surprise visit comes when the Kremlin has already begun its new offensive at different points in Donbas —a region that is always hot and bloody— and the Ukrainian Executive has warned that Putin is preparing another large-scale bombardment with missiles, which will coincide with the anniversary of the conflict.
Biden's arrival, surrounded by extreme security measures, is the tangible symbol not only that Ukraine is already anchored in the West;
also that the Democratic administration continues to support Kiev, while the evidence is growing that Moscow is preparing for a long war with the aim of exhausting the Ukrainians and their allies.
That risk of fatigue continues to grow as funds and weapons are consumed in Ukraine at a rapid rate.
For now, Biden has announced in kyiv a new package of 500 million dollars (468 million euros) in military aid to Ukraine.
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Ukraine-Russia war: latest live news
"He thought that Urania was weak and that the West was divided," Biden said on his social networks.
"He thought he could survive us, but he was completely wrong," added the US president, who has assured that the US commitment to "democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine" is unwavering.
In a short speech, Biden has praised Ukraine's courage during the war, assured that he will stand by the country for as long as it takes, and promised more ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems.
“He knew that he would return [to kyiv],” remarked Biden, who has had a long and complex relationship with Ukraine since his time as vice president of the Obama Administration.
As Moscow already did during the unprecedented EU-Ukraine summit 10 days ago, when the leaders of the European institutions visited Kiev, Russia has not allowed the high-level US delegation to stop feeling the war.
During the morning, cold but sunny, with blue skies, anti-aircraft alerts have sounded in many parts of the country;
also in the imposing Ukrainian capital, with the center shielded by security measures and where traffic jams have paralyzed circulation.
This Monday also marks the ninth anniversary of the so-called
bloody morning
, when, during the anti-corruption and Europeanist revolution of the Maidan, dozens of people died in police charges.
With the sound of the anti-aircraft alert in the background – due to a combat plane that took off from Belarus, according to the Ukrainian media – Biden and Zelenski have walked together a few meters through the center of Kiev.
Escorted by the military, they have approached the Wall of Remembrance, where are the tribute portraits of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat since Russia launched the illegal invasion of the Crimean peninsula and fueled the Donbas war in 2014.
Biden was one of the few Western leaders who had not yet traveled to Ukraine during the war.
The US president is scheduled to visit Poland on Tuesday to meet with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and the leaders of the so-called Bucharest group (nine of NATO's eastern flank allies).
A visit (the second to Poland since the start of the invasion) to the eastern country, just when the debate on funds and weapons for Ukraine is reactivated.
Some Republicans are threatening to cut funding, and with the presidential election coming up next year, Russia's war in Ukraine will be a substantial part of the campaign.
Of all the Western allies, Washington is the one that has provided the most arms support to the Ukrainian army.
The United States has committed some $30 billion in security assistance to Ukraine and, in recent weeks, has agreed to provide several of its modern Abrams 1 tanks, which will join German Leopard 2s that several European countries will provide through a coalition to that shipment that is taking time to start.
Meanwhile, Zelensky demands long-range weapons and military fighters.
The delivery of aircraft may be one of the issues that the Ukrainian Administration discusses with Biden, but until a few days ago its shipment was not on the table, when what is most urgent for Ukraine is to receive ammunition and get the logistics of the planes up and running. tanks.
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