President Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Monday to visit President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and show support for Ukraine just days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Biden spent over five hours in Kyiv, the nation’s capital, where he discussed future steps with Zelenskyy, per AP News. During the visit, Biden spoke and emphasized that Kyiv is still standing, and the United States, along with the world, stands with Ukraine.
“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Biden said, as reported by AP News. “And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”
Biden also traveled to Poland to meet with European leaders, including Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Biden hopes to drum up support from Ukrainian allies, as some expect the war to intensify in the spring.
Biden also discussed the state of Russia. He said that coordinated attacks have resulted in Russian forces losing nearly half the territory they occupied earlier on in the invasion and that economic sanctions are “squeezing Russia’s economic lifelines,” per the WSJ.
“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” said Biden, as reported by the WSJ. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”
While visiting Ukraine, Biden also announced another $460 million in military aid would be provided. This aid is expected to include infantry-support vehicles, a range of munitions, communication equipment, Javelin anti-armor systems, and medical supplies.
“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said, per AP News.
The casualties in the war have been immense, as a Zelenskyy aide indicated in December that there may be upwards of 13,000 deaths since the first invasion, per BBC News.
“The cost that Ukraine has had to bear has been extraordinarily high,” said Biden, according to AP News. “And the sacrifices have been far too great.”
The death toll for Russia has been immense as well. The death toll for Russian soldiers may be as high as 60,000, as reported by The Hill.
President Biden said that Putin was not expecting the alliance between Ukraine and other countries to remain strong and that Russia may now be worried about outlasting Ukraine, according to AP News.
“He’s counting on us not sticking together,” Biden said, reported AP News. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now. God knows what he’s thinking, but I don’t think he’s thinking that. But he’s just been plain wrong. Plain wrong.”