Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelensky had initially proposed a meeting closer to the Polish border, in Lviv.
Joe Biden finally preferred all that a visit to kyiv has of symbolism.
The American president arrived by train at 8 a.m. on Monday.
The war made this journey by rail of a foreign head of state to Ukraine common - Oleksandr Kamyshin, the head of the Ukrainian railway services, nicknamed this journey that of "
iron diplomacy".
But today's guest remains exceptional: Ukraine's first support against Russia is visiting Kiev for the first time not only since the beginning of the war, but since 2008. Moreover, the date of This coming is remarkable to say the least: in the light of the first year of the war, this February 20 also marks the anniversary of the Maidan revolution - in 2014, when the pro-Russian President Yanukovych was ousted from power.
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On this day, security measures were particularly reinforced in the Ukrainian capital.
All morning, the Kievan traffic freezes, according to the passages of the convoy of Biden and Zelensky.
From dawn, the district adjoining the monastery of Saint-Michel-au-Dôme-d'Or is completely locked, and it is impossible to pass the checkpoints.
Two days earlier, local residents were visited by armed men, members of the SBU (Ukrainian secret service).
Phones were searched and contact lists combed through - looking for a potentially suspicious Russian number.
Another precautionary measure, but not the least: a few hours before the arrival of Joe Biden in Ukraine, the White House warned the Kremlin of this arrival, as claimed by the national security adviser of the White House ,
“We gave the Russians good warning that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv.
We did it a few hours before he left.”
Roar of sirens
At the Mariinsky Palace, the seat of the Ukrainian presidency, Biden confirmed his commitment to Ukraine:
“I thought it was essential that there be no doubt, none, about American support for the Ukraine in the war.
I am here to show our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the
(Ukrainian) nation.
Zelensky
thanked the US president for coming at the
"most difficult time"
, and considered that this
"exchange brings us closer to victory".
Various announcements were made by Biden: $500 million for weaponry, including
“artillery ammunition, Javelins and radars,”
as well as increased sanctions against Russia.
But nothing was said about the next-generation fighter jets and long-range missiles that kyiv has been asking for for a long time.
This mixture of gratitude and desire for more armament is systematic, always inspired by the idea that Ukraine is fighting as much for itself as for Europe and the West.
The choice of Saint-Michel-au-Dôme-d'Or as a second place to visit is not insignificant.
Besides the fact that the monastery is a closed place, easy to monitor, it is also the seat of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine - which broke with that of Moscow in 2018. While Biden and Zelensky leave the monastery together, an air alarm is triggered.
The two presidents, however, did not hurry and headed calmly towards the outer walls of Saint-Michel.
Dozens of meters are plastered with hundreds of faces of Ukrainian soldiers who died in combat.
The roar of the sirens is barely drowned out by the Ukrainian servicemen playing the “Taps” – the military bell reserved for the funerals of American soldiers.
Two wreaths are laid at the bottom of portraits of dead men, not for a year,
but since what Ukrainians see as the real start to the current conflict: the war in Donbass in 2014. Before parting ways, Biden and Zelensky exchange a final hug.
The American president leaves for his embassy.
Funeral looks
Gradually, police and soldiers disperse.
Normal life returns around the monastery.
Two categories of passers-by can be guessed: the curious hoping to see what Biden left behind and those who came with their own flowers, carnations that they lay in memory of the dead for Ukraine.
The vast majority of Kievans had planned today to commemorate the
"martyrs"
of Maidan and Donbass.
But Biden's reception in kyiv also took on the air of a funeral.
Mikhaïlov is a veteran, and holds carnations in his weathered hands.
“I came to pay my respects.
I have been fighting since the start, since Maidan.
Faced with this Satan who is Russia…”
He adds:
“Yes, America is our ally, but Ukraine is not fighting for itself.
She fights so that the Russian tanks do not roll in the streets of the West.
We need even more weapons."
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Two teenagers watch the scene.
Simple curious, their hands are empty.
“Biden is number one!”
exclaimed Bogdan.
But the teenager adds all the same, in his turn:
“We still need more armament…”
In the distance, a man waves a sign
“F16 for Ukraine”
;
another takes him by the shoulder and then sings the Ukrainian anthem.
This mixture of gratitude and desire for more armament is systematic, always inspired by the idea that Ukraine is fighting as much for itself as for Europe and the West.
As of 2 p.m., it is said that Biden is returning to Poland, a country that NATO has long considered its “eastern military flank”.
After Biden came to Kyiv, the eastern military flank seems to have definitely shifted a little further east.