Yahoo Autos Joe Biden’s Surprise Visit To Ukraine: Reporters Kept Trip Secret As President Traveled With Small Group Amid Security Concerns
UPDATED, with additional details: Just after 5 AM ET on Monday, networks started to break in to regular programming for special reports that President Joe Biden had made a surprise trip to Ukraine.
By then, the president was already in Kyiv, having traveled there after a 10-hour trip by train from Poland. At 5:01 AM, a pool report was finally released that officially revealed the visit, after the information had been embargoed for hours.
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“I’m here to show our unwavering support for the nation’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Biden said as he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Marinsky Palace. NBC News was up at 5:03 AM ET with anchor Peter Alexander, and other networks doing their own reports throughout the morning.
The visit may have been a surprise, but it was not unexpected: Coming up on the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, Biden had scheduled a trip to Poland this week. That immediately led to speculation that the president would cross the border into Ukraine, making a rare visit to a war zone. This trip, however, was different, in that the U.S. does not have a military presence in Ukraine, which is under the ongoing threat of Russian missile strikes.
“There is no meeting with President Zelensky scheduled …. for the trip right now,” spokesman John Kirby said on Friday when asked by reporters, emphasizing the words “right now.” But there was suspicion that a trip was in the planning given the gaps on Biden’s schedule. The president gave the final go ahead for the trip on Friday, according to White House officials.
Biden left on Air Force One at 4:15 AM ET on Sunday, with no events on his public schedule for the day and official plans to leave for Poland on Monday. Just two journalists were with him on the journey — The Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui and the AP’s Evan Vucci — and they were instructed to hand over their devices. The president’s entourage was also small, including Jake Sullivan, Jen O’Malley Dillon and Annie Tomasini.
Networks already had been making plans for anniversary coverage with week, adding to reporting staffs already in Kyiv to cover the war. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, for instance, was in Warsaw to co-anchor CNN This Morning from there.
Biden announced another $500 million in aid during the trip, but the purpose of the trip undoubtedly was to send a message to Russia about the U.S. commitment to Ukraine. “The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you,” Biden said.
Biden and Zelensky at one point walked the streets of Kyiv, with the meeting between the two leaders meant to symbolize the unexpected resilience of Ukraine after 12 months along with the unity of support by the U.S. and its allies.
At one moment during the trip, air raid sirens were sounded as they left St. Michael’s Cathedral. The visit also included a wreath laying at the Wall of Remembrance, a memorial to Ukrainian soldiers killed, and Biden’s visit to the U.S. Embassy.
“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said.
