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Nearly a year into the largest ground war in Europe since World War II, President Biden made a secret trip to besieged Kyiv today in a demonstration of U.S. support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s yearlong invasion.
The visit, which included a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was unannounced for security reasons before Biden flew again to Poland for meetings in Warsaw, as scheduled (Politico EU and The New York Times).
“One year later, Kyiv stands,” Biden said in Kyiv. “Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”
Biden announced half a billion dollars in further aid to Ukraine, “including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars,” according to a White House statement, and will detail further sanctions “against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine” later this week. Zelensky said today that he and Biden spoke about “long range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before.”
Biden’s surprise visit comes as world leaders prepare to mark a year on Friday since Ukraine began its defense, and currently, there are no real signs of a way out of the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no indication of giving in, and Ukraine, which has battled Russian invaders to a standstill, says it’s determined to gain ground during an expected spring offensive.
In Kyiv, Biden said Putin had miscalculated. “He’s just been plain wrong,” he said standing with Zelensky. “One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together.”
Neither side appears primed for an outright military victory, and progress at the negotiating table seems just as unlikely (NPR). Ukraine is depending on a brutal ground war and massive ammunition to attain a standstill against Russia, as Kyiv prepares for a spring offensive launched by Moscow (CBS Sunday Morning).
▪ PBS NewsHour: A timeline of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
▪ CNN: Ukraine is burning through ammunition faster than the U.S. and NATO can produce it. Inside the Pentagon’s plan to close the gap.
▪ CBS Sunday Morning: Ukrainians resolute after a year of war.
▪ Reuters: The United Nations will mark the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine by urging “just peace.”
Biden will deliver a speech in Warsaw on Tuesday to commemorate the anniversary of the war in the same place he was last year when he told the world that he believed Putin cannot “remain in power” after visiting refugees near the front lines. Since then, the president has maintained his leadership among NATO allies when it comes to aiding Ukraine, totaling in the billions. He also hosted Zelensky at the White House, a remarkable showing of the two leaders as the world attempts to ice out and thus punish Putin.
On Tuesday, Biden is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda before delivering his speech, and on Wednesday will meet with the Bucharest Nine, members of NATO’s eastern flank: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (The Hill). Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign affairs council meets in Brussels today and Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted to thank Estonia for a proposal for “joint direct procurement of arms and ammunition” for Ukraine (The Guardian live blog).
Vice President Harris, speaking to the Munich Security Conference last week, repeated that the U.S. and allies will hold Russia to account for international war crimes and “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine, including alleged torture, rape and murder of adults and children (The ).
“The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity, and I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes, and to their superiors, who are complicit in these crimes, you will be held to account,” Harris said.
▪ The Hill: “We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia in the course of a hybrid war, unleashed against us,” said Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov in a statement on the messaging platform Telegram.
▪ CNN: The U.S. evidence of Russian war crimes is “starkly clear,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday.
▪ The Hill: There the U.S. has no timeline for the end of support for Ukraine, White House spokesman John Kirby said.
Though the Russian military has suffered setback after setback, Putin has been far more successful at home; facing little resistance, he has gone further than many thought possible in reshaping Russia in his image. The paranoia, grievances and imperialist mindset that drove Putin to invade have seeped deep into daily life. School children now learn that the Russian military has always liberated humanity from “aggressors who seek world domination,” and any of the activist groups and rights organizations that sprung up in the first 30 years of post-Soviet Russia have met an abrupt end (The New York Times).
But some in Russia fear Putin is leading his nation into a dark period and suggest he needs a military victory to ensure his political survival. “In Russia, loyalty does not exist,” one Russian billionaire told The . Business executives and state officials say Putin’s position at the top could prove precarious as doubts over his tactics grow among the elite, and his vision of the country horrifies many, who quietly say the war has been a catastrophic and failed error.
“Among the elite, though they understand it was a mistake, they still fear to do anything themselves,” Boris Bondarev, the only Russian diplomat to publicly quit office over the war, told the Post. “Because they have gotten used to Putin deciding everything.”
CNN: Faint cracks emerge in the facade of Putin’s rule, one year after the Ukraine invasion.
Blinken told CBS News on Saturday that China is actively considering providing lethal support, including weapons and ammunition, to aid Moscow against Ukraine. Blinken over the weekend warned his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference that there will be U.S.-China consequences if Beijing helps Russia fight the war (CBS News, Al Jazeera and BBC).
“We’ve been concerned from day one about that possibility,” Blinken said on “Face the Nation.” He spoke in general terms about the type of lethal aid China is considering. “There’s a whole gamut of things that — that fit in that category, everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves.”
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▪ NPR: U.S. and South Korea reacted to Sunday’s North Korean ballistic missile test with joint military air exercises, also on Sunday. North Korea launched two more missiles off its coast today (Reuters).
▪ CNN: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose possible impeachment is a priority for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and House Republicans critical of the administration’s border and migration policies, said during an interview broadcast and streaming on Sunday that he will not resign. DHS hired outside legal representation for the secretary (The Hill).
▪ The Hill: Big Tech regulation, plus student debt forgiveness top a divisive Supreme Court agenda during the next two weeks.
▪ The Hill: Lawmakers have high hopes for a “serious” committee to weigh China issues.
▪ The Hill: Five key questions about the dwindling Social Security Trust Fund.
