This trip signals a shift for the U.S., as the Biden administration will no longer be wary of arming Ukraine to turn back Russia’s invasion.
For almost a year now, my former homeland has been under a brutal attack. But even as Russia keeps hammering at Ukraine, hope has sprung up too. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, and tens of thousands of foreigners, have come forward to defend the nation. More than 50 countries are supporting the effort, with weapons that have allowed Ukraine to reclaim large swathes of territory. And now, President Biden’s surprise 10-hour dash by train from Poland to Kyiv on Monday and his tough speech in Warsaw on Tuesday, in which he proclaimed “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia — never.”
Biden’s visit to Kyiv gives me hope for three reasons. First, it recognizes the spirited resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of war. And it gives this resilience a boost.
Ever since the White House announced that Biden would visit Poland, Kyiv had been abuzz with anticipation that the U.S. president might either invite Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to join him in Warsaw or would visit Kyiv himself. Biden didn’t let them down. He came to Kyiv on Monday — a first in modern times for an American president, entering a war zone that was not controlled by the U.S. military.
This gesture will boost the Ukrainian people’s determination to beat Russia militarily and to build a thriving democracy. Polls by Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology last July found that Russia’s invasion had already increased support for democratic values and institutions, compared with respondents’ stances in November 2021.
