Joe Biden’s trip to Kyiv: secretly planned for months and with advance notice in Russia

The trip of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to Kyiv to meet President Volodimir Zelenskiy had been secretly planned for months, with the participation of only a handful of advisers and with notice to Russiathat she learned of the president’s plans just hours before his departure from Washington.

Some of the US leader’s top advisers explained this to the press yesterday, including the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who was part of the small entourage that accompanied Biden.

Sullivan explained that Washington sent a notification to Moscow about Biden’s trip to Kiev a few hours” before his plane left Andrews Air Force Base (Maryland), on the outskirts of Washington, and explained that the goal of the message was to avoid any incident that could escalate the conflict.

Interviewed by the press, the opposing adviser revealed the content of the message sent to the Kremlin due to the “delicate nature” of this type of communication with Russia.

Secretly

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Biden’s visit was not disclosed until well underway and had been kept under wraps for security reasons.

However, the trip didn’t come unexpectedly and it did “meticulously planned” for months, revealed Jonathan Finer, Sullivan’s “number two” on the National Security Council of the White House, the body in charge of US foreign policy.

According to Finer, for security reasons, only a handful of advisers from the White House, the Pentagon and the secret services were involved in planning the trip, as well as some members of the intelligence services whose mission was to ensure the president’s safety in Kiev .

All of those advisors carefully planned every step of the journey, including how Biden would get to Kiev, e.g They also worked out other alternative plans in case some kind of problem arose when the president was down.

Biden was the one who made the final decision to go to Kiev on Friday, considering the risks were there, but manageable.

The president came to this conclusion after a long meeting on Friday in the Oval Office of the White House. with his advisers and members of his cabinet, some of whom attended by phone, Finer said.

the logistics

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Logistically, the trip was particularly challenging because US presidents rarely visit war zones and when they do, as they have in recent years in Iraq or Afghanistan, US troops are often on the ground to ensure their safety.

However, The US has no troops in Ukraine. and, therefore, the trip required more planning and much more care, explained White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.

“This visit by a US president to a war zone is historic and unprecedented,” Bedingfield said.

Despite the risks, Biden decided to go to Ukraine to show his commitment to Ukraine, just when there are four days left on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion which started on February 24, 2022.

During his visit, the American met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodimir Zelensky, and announced $500 million in additional aid to Ukraine.

Biden has already left Kiev, after a six-hour visit, and tomorrow, Tuesday, he will begin an official visit to Poland to reaffirm his commitment to the countries on NATO’s eastern flank.

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