Biden secretly visits Kyiv.
Learn how it was planned 2:54
(CNN) --
The last time US President Joe Biden spoke from the courtyard of the Royal Castle in Poland, the content of his 27-minute speech was largely obscured by what he improvised at the end about the Russian president. , Vladimir Putin.
"For God's sake," he proclaimed, "this man cannot remain in power."
Nearly a year later, Biden returns to the Royal Castle this week to mark the anniversary of a war that has pitted him increasingly directly against the Russian leader, a Cold War dynamic underscored by Biden's top-secret visit to Kyiv a day earlier. .
Joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden used his presence in the Ukrainian capital to mock Putin for failing in his ambitions to invade and control the country.
“Putin's war of conquest is failing,” Biden said, adding later: “He thought he could outlast us.
I don't think he's thinking that right now."
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ANALYSIS |
After almost a year of war, Ukraine defies the odds and can still defeat Russia
If there was a time when Biden and his advisers hoped to avoid personalizing the Ukraine conflict, it ended well before the anniversary of the invasion this week.
Biden declared Putin a “war criminal” and a “pure thug”, he has accused Russia of genocide and, in his Castle speech, made an implicit call for regime change.
However, this week's carefully planned choreography is striking in Biden's open showdown against his Kremlin counterpart.
On Tuesday, they will each again take part in a remote rhetoric contest, delivering major speeches to mark one year since Russia launched its invasion.
From the Warsaw castle, Biden intends to recommit to supporting Ukraine, even as costs rise and public support appears to wane.
And in Moscow, Putin will deliver a major address to the Federal Assembly, in which he will discuss his own views on the ongoing war, which US and European officials believe has reached an important juncture.
According to senior US and European officials, Putin's goals have not changed since he launched his invasion a year ago.
Despite humiliating setbacks to his army and an apparent power struggle between the mercenary Wagner Group and the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia has made recent gains in the east.
Putin's troops appear poised to take the city of Bakhmut, the first significant Russian military victory in months.
Unlike Biden's last appearance in Warsaw, which came as Putin's forces appeared in retreat and observers expected the Russian economy to collapse under the weight of Western sanctions, the war now appears poised to spread at least one more year.
There are currently no serious efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.
By visiting the region this week, Biden hopes to once again raise a rallying cry for Ukraine, showing Putin and Russia that Western resolve is unwavering.
In meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and other Eastern European allies, Biden will reiterate his commitment to the security of those countries.
ANALYSIS |
While Biden visits Ukraine, the head of Chinese diplomacy travels to Russia
Biden reproaches in Washington for his visit to Ukraine 3:24
Biden announced Monday that he would join European nations in announcing new sanctions against Moscow and presenting another security assistance package on top of the tens of billions already pledged this year.
The White House said ahead of his trip that Biden would speak by phone later in the week with other Western leaders, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.
"Freedom does not have a price.
It's worth fighting for, for as long as it takes.
And that is how long we will be with you, Mr. President, as long as it takes," Biden told Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday.
Why is Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine historic?
0:49
Biden's next fight
However, neither Biden, nor any other Western leader, has been able to say exactly how long it will last, so this week is as much about next year as it is about the past 12 months.
The war has left an indelible mark on almost every aspect of Biden's presidency and he has made his mark on the war, from the billions of dollars in arms shipments to the newly strengthened Western alliance.
He has convulsed the global economy and created political problems at home, while giving Biden an opportunity to prove his oft-repeated claim that “America is back.”
White House officials have been looking forward to the war anniversary for weeks, constantly pointing out that a year ago, as Russian troops were massing on the Ukrainian border, there were many people, including within the Biden administration, who predicted Kyiv would fall in a matter of days.
The surprising resistance of the Ukrainian people, together with the unexpected ineptitude of the Russian forces, have prevented a full takeover of power.
Instead, the war has devolved into what NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg described last week as a “crushing war of attrition” with no discernible end.
“I think it is prudent to be prepared for a long war,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who will visit Biden at the White House early next month, told CNN on Friday.
The United States and other Western nations have been sending batches of weapons, tanks and ammunition to Ukraine, steadily increasing what they are willing to provide in hopes of changing the trajectory of the war.
It's not enough for Zelensky, who wants heavier weapons and fighter jets.
US officials have said they hope the massive inflow of weapons into Ukraine, including new vehicles, longer-range missiles and Patriot air defense systems, can help Ukraine prevail on the battlefield and put the country in a position stronger to negotiate an end to the war.
But it remains unclear what parameters Zelensky might be willing to accept in any peace negotiations, and the US has steadfastly refused to define what a deal would look like beyond saying Zelensky will call the shots.
Russian War Joe Biden Vladimir Putin
