(ConservativeHub.com) – On February 19, at 10:20 a.m. the White House informed the press that President Biden would not make any appearances during the day, according to a recent report from The Hill. In fact, Biden had left the White House several hours earlier to fly to Poland before taking a train to Kyiv. He arrived in the capital of war-torn Ukraine early that morning and stayed for about five hours.
The surprise trip was not previously made public, as the President was visiting the country that has for almost a year been fighting off the Russian forces which invaded the country.
While the trip was a surprise to the public, the US reportedly notified Russia of the visit ahead of time. The deputy national security adviser Jon Finer stated that the visit to the war-ridden country was planned over the course of months. It was part of President Biden’s wish to stand by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and show that the US would continue to provide assistance to Ukraine for as long as necessary.
According to The Hill, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said regarding the trip that while it was “logistically complicated” it helped solidify the U.S. position in support of the Ukrainian people. Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, also noted that the trip had required months of planning and that few officials from the National Security Council, the Pentagon, Secret Service, and the White House military office had been a part of the trip preparations.
While this is not the first time that there has been an unannounced presidential visit in a war zone, previously those visits have been made to areas where the US has a military presence like Iraq or Afghanistan.
Two days ahead of time, President Biden decided to move forward with his trip to Kyiv after being made aware of the security plan and the risks.
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