Joe Biden in kyiv: an operation strong in symbols and meticulously prepared
US President Joe Biden, with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, in front of the Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, in Kiev, this Monday, February 20, 2023. AP - Evan Vucci
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3 mins
He was expected in Poland, and it was finally in kyiv that he appeared this Monday, February 20 in the morning.
Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine.
The American president came to assure this country of the support of the United States in the face of Russian aggression.
A strong symbol.
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With our correspondent in Washington,
Guillaume Naudin
Almost a year after the start of the Russian aggression, the message of the American president is simple, summed up in a few words: “
Kiev is holding, Ukraine is holding, democracy is holding.
The United States and the world stand with Ukraine
,” for as long as it takes.
And to match the action with the word, Joe Biden announced a tranche of additional military aid for half a billion dollars.
This is mainly artillery, and the ammunition that goes with it.
Message to Ukraine, therefore, but also to the Russian Federation.
Additional sanctions against entities that fuel the Russian war machine will be announced in the coming days.
►Also listen: Joe Biden's visit to kyiv: "The message is that the war will only end with the capitulation of the Putin regime"
In addition, Moscow was warned a few hours before this visit decided on Friday evening.
It comes a few hours before a speech by Vladimir Putin to mark the first anniversary of what the Russians still call the "special military operation".
The message is also for Americans, whose support for Ukraine is beginning to weaken in public opinion according to some surveys.
To show them what all this is for.
Finally, as questions arise about his age and he sends signals about a new candidacy, at 80, Joe Biden responds by moving to a war zone.
An “unprecedented” move
President Joe Biden's visit was obviously risky, given the ongoing conflict.
It was therefore meticulously organised.
The actions of the American president are always closely observed.
Even the menu for his dinner with his wife on Saturday evening is known.
But this time, the White House managed to maintain secrecy until the end.
A departure was scheduled for Monday morning.
In reality, the American president left Washington on Sunday.
His itinerary remains secret for the moment.
The White House simply claimed to have informed Russia, as we have seen, “
a few hours before his departure
”.
►Read again: Joe Biden, on a surprise visit to kyiv, promises new military aid to Ukraine
Did Joe Biden take the train, like other Western leaders who have traveled to kyiv since the start of the conflict?
Given the security conditions surrounding any move by the
commander in chief
, this seems unlikely.
But air travel, when Ukraine is regularly hit by missiles, is also risky.
Be that as it may, Joe Biden was only in kyiv for a few hours, not changing his schedule when the anti-aircraft sirens sounded.
Arrived in the morning, he left in the afternoon.
A whirlwind visit, therefore, “
unprecedented in our time
” for an American president, judges his security adviser.
Unprecedented ?
Understand: in a country at war where American forces are not deployed.
International Department,
Guilhem Delteil
A visit that pleasantly surprises Ukrainians
They hoped for it without really believing in it.
Joe Biden's visit to kyiv is widely commented on and welcomed.
The US government is by far the largest supplier of weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
Serguei, 54, from Crimea, says he is delighted: “
Biden is our friend, he helps us hold on.
Without this help, we probably wouldn't have been able to resist.
Because opposite, they are very numerous.
Our military say the Russians don't fight very well, but they make up for it in numbers.
Without Western armament, we would have very little chance of getting out of it.
»
Even if the front is almost frozen, the pressure is felt, the fighting intensifies in the east.
Ukraine needs ammunition for its artillery, and tanks.
In kyiv, the American president promised $500 million in additional assistance.
But for Natalia Poniatovskaya, a seamstress who makes all kinds of equipment for the army, it is above all the gesture that counts.
“
The arrival of Biden is a sign of powerful support for Ukraine,
she considers.
And I'm not just talking about what he came to bring us.
Of course, financial aid and arms deliveries are very important, but moral support is also very important.
»
This support is all the more important as the first anniversary of the start of the invasion approaches, when the Ukrainians fear new salvoes of missiles.
In Kupyansk,
Anastasia Becchio
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Joe Biden
Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky