President Joe Biden on Monday made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s war on Ukraine this week.
Biden was previously scheduled to leave the US for Warsaw, Poland, later Monday.
This is Biden’s first visit to the country since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
“When [Russian President Vladimir] Putin launched the invasion almost a year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said in a statement. “He thought he could outrun us. But he died wrong.”
Biden promised to announce the delivery of additional equipment this week, as well as impose new sanctions “against elites and companies that try to remove or retreat from the Russian war machine.”
Zelenskyy shared a photo on his Telegram account, showing him and Biden shaking hands.
“Your visit is a very important sign of support for all Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy wrote.
Biden is due to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday, and also made comments expressing US support for Ukraine “forever.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.