Biden Arrives in Poland After His Secret Trip to Kyiv

President Joe Biden arrived in Poland By train after his surprise visit in Kyiv UkraineThis was just days before the one-year mark of Russia‘s invasion.

Biden will be meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw during his two-day stay. This is Biden’s key ally and outspoken critic against Moscow’s ongoing actions. “special military operation.”

On Monday, Biden surprised the world with his visit to Kyiv, which occurred under a tight veil of secrecy. Biden met Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, and walked along a street next to the famous St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery.

Washington informed Russia about the president’s visit to Kyiv hours before his departure for “deconfliction purposes,” Jake Sullivan, White House national safety adviser, spoke to reporters. Only a few of his closest aides were able to join Biden in Kyiv including Sullivan.

“This was a historic visit unprecedented in modern times to have the president of the United States visit the capital of the country at war where the United States military does not control the critical infrastructure,” Sullivan.

The U.S. president will deliver a landmark address in Warsaw to mark the passing of nearly one year since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2013.

Second Visit to Poland

Biden visited Poland last January, just after Russia’s first invasion. Biden decried Russian President Vladimir Putin during that visit. “cannot remain in power”–an assertion later walked back by the White House.

Biden hosted Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, in Washington in December. There, he reiterated the administration’s policies. “unwavering” Support for Ukraine’s war effort.

Since January 2021, when Biden assumed office, approximately $25 billion has been provided to Ukraine in security assistance.

Since the start of the conflict almost a year ago, Poland has been a strong supporter of Kyiv. It has already supplied Ukraine with 250 combat tanks, and it pledged many more in the last month, including advanced German Leopard tanks.

Biden’s visit is intended to rally Kyiv’s top allies in the face of mounting disaffection with this protracted conflict. This has resulted in rising energy costs and depleted European arm inventories. Recent polling suggests that there is a decline in support for both the United States and Europe’s war on terror. In the latter, Republican lawmakers–who won control of the House of Representatives last year–have voiced mounting opposition to continued assistance.

Biden will also be in Warsaw to meet with leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9) group of East European NATO allies, which was established in 2015.

Other than Poland, which joined western alliance in 1999 and is now a member of the B9, it also includes Estonia (Czech Republic), Bulgaria, Hungary Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. All B9 members were part of the former Soviet Union–before its collapse in 1991–or the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.

In the Donbass’ eastern region, where Russian is spoken, and along the country’s southern Black Sea coast, Russian forces have seized large swathes.

Moscow announced unilateral annexes of the Donetsk-Luhansk-Zaporizhzhia and Kherson areas after overseeing controversial referendums in October. The move is strongly opposed by Kyiv and its Western allies. For their part, military officials from Ukraine have repeatedly pledged to retake all territory lost by force of arms.

Moscow asserts that the invasion and subsequent annexations were meant to protect Russian speakers in Donbass, which is made up of Donetsk (and Luhansk), against abuses by Kyiv’s government. Kyiv on its part denies the claim, claiming that Russia’s moves constitute an illegal land grab.

Despite the success of Ukrainian counter-offensives last autumn, Russian forces have since regained control. The Wagner Group, a Kremlin commanded paramilitary group, has led them to retake key positions in the Donetsk Region.

Biden’s Poland visit is expected to be preceded by speculations that there could be new Russian offensives on several sections of the 600-mile-long frontline.