Reserved for subscribers
The US president’s surprise visit was a strong symbol, aimed at reassuring Ukraine. It has pissed off the most extreme Republicans.
From our correspondent in the United States, Claire Meynial
© DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP
Published on
Subscriber-only audio playback
AT a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was a strong gesture. Monday morning, Joe Biden paid a surprise visit to Volodymyr Zelensky, when he had announced a trip to Poland. The White House had repeated that no trip to Ukraine was planned around February 24. And the daily e-mail to the media, giving the president’s schedule for the next day, said Sunday that he would be in Washington on Monday, before leaving in the evening for Warsaw.
“I thought it was crucial that there be no doubt, absolutely none, about American support for Ukraine in this war,” Biden said. It is very rare for a president to travel to a conflict zone whose airspace is not controlled by the United States or its allies…