President Biden on Monday made a surprise visit to Ukraine, marking his first visit to the country since Russia invaded last year, a highly symbolic move that demonstrates Washington’s deep involvement in the war.
The visit came just days ahead of February 24, which will mark the one-year anniversary of the current conflict in Ukraine. In a statement, Biden said the purpose of his trip to the war zone was to “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment” to Ukraine.
While in Kyiv and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden announced a new weapons package for Kyiv worth nearly $500 million. The package includes ammunition for the HIMARS rocket systems, other artillery ammunition, four Bradley Infantry Fire Support Team vehicles, Javelin anti-tank systems, and other equipment.
Absent from the package are the more advanced weapons Ukraine has been seeking, including fighter jets and the Army Tactical Missiles Systems (ATACMs), munitions with a range of up to 190 miles.
Biden claimed the US and its allies had pledged 700 tanks for Ukraine. It’s not clear if the number is accurate as Germany and its partners cannot manage to scrape together 61 Leopard 2 tanks to give Ukraine, and the US has only pledged to send 31 Abrams tanks. But Ukraine has received hundreds of Soviet-made tanks from eastern European countries, such as Poland, which pledged 240 T-70 tanks for Kyiv earlier in the conflict.
Biden’s visit came after The Washington Post reported that the administration has conveyed to Ukraine that the amount of assistance it has received might not last forever, and the head of NATO has acknowledged the alliance’s ammunition stockpiles are being depleted. But the president’s message on Monday was that the US would keep supporting the proxy war against Russia for as long as it takes.
The Biden administration is also hoping that Ukraine will regain some territory in the coming months, and part of Biden’s visit might have been to encourage Zelensky to launch a counteroffensive. Russia has been building up its forces for months after mobilizing 300,000 fresh troops and has been starting to make more territorial gains.
Demonstrating the danger of the trip, air sirens were heard in Kyiv while Biden was there, although no airstrikes were reported. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the US notified Moscow that Biden was visiting Ukraine a few hours before his arrival.
“We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for de-confliction purposes,” Sullivan told reporters.
Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, told reporters that “a visit from a US President to an active warzone like this is historic and unprecedented and, as I say, required a great deal of careful planning.”
Some Republicans in Congress were critical of President Biden’s trip. “Joe Biden prioritizing a visit to Ukraine before East Palestine, Ohio is the perfect example of his administration putting America last,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) said in a statement to Breitbart.
“Joe Biden prioritizing a visit to Ukraine before East Palestine, Ohio is the perfect example of his administration putting America last,”
Indeed.
How far do we have to go to find a president not a slave to the military industrial complex? Carter? (God bless him) Eisenhower (he coined the term after all)? Quincy Adams?
Washington
Thomas Jefferson
biden has sent numerous teams of EPA guys and engineers to ohio almost the very instant that the train crashed. what would biden do there in person other than stage a photo-op. and on a related note, trump has stated that he is going to show up there in person – for his photo-op.
For half a second, I thought he meant east Palestine as in… you know, Palestine.
As ironic as it would be, I could imagine a war hawk republican saying visiting Ukraine instead of Israel was a perfect example of putting america last.
But alas, it was only ohio
Wow. Imagine the false flag that could have started WW3. And then imagine saying President Harris.
we don’t really need to imagine President Harris because she would not be any different than any other POTUS, including trump
Just the fingernails on the chalkboard cackle of hers is enough of a difference for me.
The policy would be the same, true, but then we’d have to listen to her terrible cackle. At least we could laugh at a bad spray tan.
It is risky to let the old man travel so far.
WWIII will actually be over in about an hour once the ICBMs start flying. That will be the end of the USA as we know it and the beginning of God only knows what.
Yes. I don’t even think I would have had time to make that comment. I hope one lands squarely on me. I don’t want to fight cockroaches for food.
Ewh, Wars. …But since you brought up that morbid thought, the “food” we would have to fight cockroaches for could be each others’ corpses. All the more reason to want to die first.
I’m thinking you meant a totally different “imagine” than John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.” This would not be like dreaming about a panacea–it would be a hellish nightmare! (Sarcasm alert)
Of course. The site of his gratedt victory. Maidan coup, his son’s lucrative dealings, and now beautifully provoked war makung his friends hundreds of billions in military profiteering.
It will also be his undoung. Karma is a witch,
Here’s hoping.
Well lah dee dah. Based on the little I’ve seen reported, DC contacted Moskow before the trip and ensured its “safe passage”.
Pretty funny when you recall the things that Biden has said about Putin.
That’s almost certainly the case. Biden wouldn’t want to be accidentally killed, and Putin wouldn’t want to accidentally kill him.
That’s because neither nation could bear to have Kamala in the Oval Office.
LOL. I think Harris would have a good 50-50 chance of saying “well, Fu*k it, lets start negotiating instead of all this teen age acne/testosterone-saturated crap from the boys”.
Maybe, but if you look at the female politicians around the world, they’re all trying to out-macho the men.
I agree that many female leaders appear to display unusually high amounts of testosterone.
R u sure u r not confusing her with someone else?
What world do you live in? Kamala will do anything for power. She’s not a principles person.
Well, duh 😉 It was reported from Moscow, so I believe it. I’ve yet to see either TASS or RT report a lie about something that didn’t directly affect combat safety and efficiency. Funny about that. Somewhat different from the BS Europeans are exposed to daily – that Putin wants to rekindle the empire by militarily overrunning all of Europe – and I hear this unbelievable Bullsh*t from educated Germans whom I know personally.
I suspect that more and more, educated people are leaving their reasoning ability up to the networks. It’s certainly easier than attempting to reason out in one’s own mind whether something that’s reported even makes sense.
It’s kind of weird — other than a couple of overheated commenters here, I’ve never actually run into the “Putin wants to re-energize the Russian imperial project by militarily overrunning all of Europe” stuff.
Obviously I wasn’t speaking of the posters here, who are mostly aware of the history and the present. I am, however, referring to actual conversations with real friends and relatives in Germany who believe the song and dance about Putin’s dream of returning to the position of czar. You should converse with some Germans and of course Poles, and folks from near the eastern borders.
What is also interesting is the attitudes of my wife’s relatives in Serbia and Hungary, who have a very different take on our proxy war. They’re more tough minded and independent than others in Germany and France, and view the proxy war as basically screwing the Europeans at Europe’s expense. The two Austrians I personally know call BS on the entire fantasy underlying our proxy war. But then, they actually know the recent history of Ukraine and the Donbass.
He doesn’t seem to be under any illusion that the Russian empire will re-expand to its Soviet-era span in his lifetime. It’s even questionable whether his land grab in the Donbas is really so much an attempt to expand his empire, or just a warning meant to cow some of his empire’s satraps who were getting uppity that went horribly wrong on him.
You should try to read what I wrote, not what you think I wrote.
Vineyard of the Saker website posted Viktor Orban’s state of the nation speech yesterday. It’s hard not to admire his position on Hungary remaining neutral in this war. A great speech. Also, The Gaggle with Peter and George covered it in their latest podcast that came out a few hours ago. Well worth reading the speech and watching the podcast.
I’m not clear what Thomas meant by that but I suspect the majority of westerners already drank that Kool-Aid. Their logic is like a sponge, full of holes but still holds… urine. Russia is weak and is being defeated in Ukraine but we should still be afraid it might overrun Europe. Also, another bonus–don’t forget they are communists, against our “values,” and from an inferior race. (Sarcasm alert)
Communists?
Please note the “Sarcasm Alert.” Of course they are not communists and most importantly not racially inferior. I was trying to summarize the ridiculous and racially motivated anti-Russian propaganda by people who pretend to be not racists. It appears that I failed?
Obtuseness alert here 🙂
There are a few. Check your upvotes.
“reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment”
Yea right. Biden’s interest will hold if and only if Ukraine can continue providing cannon fodder…. if that long.
Glad to know we have time to entertain our poor vassals
New democratic party priorities: 1. Military. 2. Military. 3. Military.
and there it is right there
everything else is BS distractions
Yeah, only there’s nothing “New” about it
Good one! LOL
Obviously Kiev is safer than Palestine, Ohio.
“Biden Makes Suprise Visit to Ukraine”
he just kind of snuck right up on everybody.
(it took almost 20 hours for him to get to ukraine)
SURPRISE!
China fined Raytheon and Lockheed Martin a total of $14.4 Billion US dollars (double the amount of the recent arms sales amount to Taiwan), within 15 days, or the fines will be increased. If they don’t pay it, China will confiscate the amount from their financial interests in China.
According to the latest round of sanctions, the two firms will be prohibited from any export and import activities and new investments in China. Their senior executives will be barred from entering China while those who are now in the country will be unable to renew work and residence permits.
Biden wanted to sneak up on Zelensky, goose him, and yell “surprise!!”.
You know, Rightster, I can actually envision him doing that!
Scummy Biden cares more about Ukraine than towns being poisoned or massive homelessness across America. What a bunch of corporate greedy turds this Administration is. Disgusting.
Well he probably wouldn’t have received a free box of brown tee shirts a big guy hug.
he did give that other guy a big guy hug while he was there
Tom Emmer for President! What a poignant and trenchant statement.
This will only escalate tensions. What is even the point?
Worrisome, especially because of how the humiliating defeat of us in Afghanistan and how Biden is associated with the said defeat. If us administration didn’t genuinely believe Ukraine can withstand the upcoming Russian onslaught they probably wouldn’t have agreed to this photo op. I hoped we will have an armistice soon but it seems the carnage will probably continue.
If Biden got a hall pass from Putin to visit the Ukraine, why the need for all the cloak-and-dagger secrecy? If Biden’s safety was already a done deal, why the need to sneak into the Ukraine at night on a special train? And, most hilariously, if Biden and Zelensky were walking around in broad daylight in Kiev with no Russian air attack going on (which they already knew wasn’t going to happen) why were the air raid sirens going off? Did Zelensky and Co. want Ukrainian civilians off the street so they wouldn’t see the massive propaganda photo-op unfolding?
Zelensky likes a big house.
That secrecy was for the American people not Russia. Russians were fully aware of old Joe visiting Zelensky. And in Zelensky’s defense they had to use air sirens cause at the moment they don’t have ceremonial marching band. Most of them are either in the eastern front or political prisoners.
Now, that’s the joke of the week…!
New Zealand Government redacted a 28 page Government draft document entitled “Communications approach to managing disinformation, online harms and scams” dated 10 Dec 2021.
“disinformation” relating to the Kiwi government’s response to the Covid pandemic. What Jucinda Ardern’s Government did was undemocratic and this document outlines the steps the Government took to ensure their narrative was the only narrative to be socialised. All other comments were censored and those responsible for the comments were threatened by Authorities.
Hundreds of thousands were illegally removed from the work place, harassed by authorities and some were arrested. Jucinda Ardern’s Labour Government was the most corrupt criminal Government in New Zealand History.
She resigned in disgrace. Here in New Zealand we are left with a divided country where the rule of law is offered to those who provide the most cash in kickbacks, ie corporations.
I knew from the beginning of the Covid outbreak that the vaccine did not stop transmission or stop you contracting Covid. If you refer MedSafe (official New Zealand Government Covid incidence reporting online) that the vaccine seriously harms 1 person for every approx. 3,500 vaccinations. Even worse the overall harm increases as the number of vaccinations individuals take increases.
Jucinda Ardern must go before the Hague to answer for her many many crimes against the people of New Zealand. It was Jucinda Arderns Government that voted in the UN to support Nazism, she is a total disgrace.
I am amazed. I never realised that JA represented a corrupt government.
I’ve been hearing funky sh*t about her for a while now.
I agree completely with Doom Sternz and I am sure I peak for many New Zealanders if I state that Jacinda Ardern and her government has done great harm to this country. It’s hoped that the new PM Chris Hipkins and his government will make the necessary corrections. That still remains to be seen.
Chris Hipkins was part of the Jucinda Ardern Labour Government. He will offer more of the same, meet the new boss, just like the old boss.
Corporate money controls all levers of power, its called fascism.
Gee, did they kiss?
Jill Biden took notice and she’ll be putting on her best lipstick for the next State of the Union.
If East Palestine was called East Tel Aviv, perhaps money baskets would be pouring from all parts.
Listening on the radio, the MSM is making Biden out to be the second coming of George Washington, Lincoln, Madison, etc. They didn’t seem to bother to mention that Putin was informed a couple hours before hand that China Joe would be making an appearance. They even cleaned up the place and had the sirens go off to make the fearless leaders seem even more oblivious to the dangers all around them.