February 20, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said negotiations between his and US President Joe Biden’s teams in Kyiv were a major boost to his country.

“This conversation brings us closer to victory,” Zelensky said, speaking alongside Biden on Monday.

The Ukrainian leader also called Biden's surprise visit the most important in the “history of the Ukraine-US relationship.”

“Ukrainians remember the focus, attention, the attitude that President Biden and the US have given to Ukraine,” Zelensky added.

“I thank you for this level of US-Ukraine cooperation,” he said.

Zelensky said he had discussed the supply of more advanced Western weapons to Ukraine, and cited the recent decision by the US to send Abrams tanks to the country as another defining moment.  

“The decision of the US on Abrams tanks has already presented a foundation for establishing a tank coalition and is of historic importance,” he said. “We’ve also talked about long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine – even though have not been supplied before.”

As traffic stood still in Kyiv on Monday morning, rumors were flying.

The talk of the town: a high-profile visitor is on the way. Nobody knew for sure who the VIP might be, but security preparations suggested it was a top-level visit; perhaps the highest level of all.

Multiple streets in the city center were shut down by police and the military presence was unusually high early on Monday, even for the capital city of a war-torn country.

The roads around St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in the heart of Kyiv were cleared overnight and sealed off early in the morning, causing traffic jams in the surrounding streets.

The plaza outside the church has become a popular spot for foreign dignitaries visiting the capital. Destroyed Russian tanks are on display there, next to a statue that’s been wrapped in sandbags to protect if from explosions.

Guests at the hotel overlooking the square were told photographing and filming was off the limits for the morning. They were warned internet connection and cellphone signal may be disrupted.

By now, the city is used to high-profile visitors, with a string of political leaders traveling there in recent months. But even so, the level of security — and excitement — in Kyiv were a clear indication that something significant was planned.

Then, at around noon local time, it was announced: US President Joe Biden was in the country.

He joined Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on a walkabout in Kyiv just as air raid sirens sounded across the city. Biden had arrived a few hours before, after completing a secret flight under cover of darkness.

US President Joe Biden made an unannounced trip to Kyiv early Monday for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago.

Biden arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. local time (1:00 a.m. ET), according to reporters traveling with him inside the country, and was greeted by the US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. His motorcade arrived at the Mariinsky Palace just after 8:30 a.m. local time. He was greeted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska.

“Thank you for coming,” Zelensky said, shaking Biden’s hand.

The pictures below show Biden's meeting with Zelensky, which took place as air raid sirens could be heard ringing out while the two leaders walked around the city.

Here's a look:

US President Joe Biden declared from Kyiv on Monday that a year after invading Ukraine, "Putin’s war of conquest is failing."

“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky. “He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”

“He’s just been plain wrong,” Biden said of Putin. “One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together.”

Biden's visit to Ukraine, his first since the invasion, was a highly symbolic moment meant to demonstrate lasting American support for the country and its people.

He harkened back to the start of the war, when the world was anxiously watching the buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine's border.

In his speech, Biden recalled how he and Zelensky spoke by phone as “Russian planes were in the air and tanks were going across your border.”

“The world was about to change," he said, recalling what Zelensky asked him to do on that phone call: “Gather the leaders of the world. Ask them to support Ukraine.”

“You said that you didn’t know when we’d be able to speak again. That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Perhaps even the end of Ukraine.”

“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” he declared. “The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”

Biden said that Kyiv has “captured a part of my heart."

President Biden's trip to Kyiv on Monday was shrouded in secrecy, a reflection of the steep security concerns of visiting an active war zone.

Air Force One departed Joint Base Andrews under cover of darkness at 4:15 a.m. ET on Sunday. Reporters aboard the plane were not allowed to carry their devices with them.

Biden's public schedule didn't reflect the trip, and White House officials repeatedly said last week that a visit to Ukraine was not in the works. 

On Saturday evening, before he departed, Biden went out to dinner with his wife in Washington. He wasn't seen in public again until arriving in Kyiv on Monday morning.

Biden is traveling with a relatively small entourage, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon and personal aide Annie Tomasini.

President Zelensky first invited Biden to visit Kyiv a year ago, as Russian forces were massing on the border. As recently as last week, Zelensky said his invitation for Biden to visit Ukraine remained open, even as he acknowledged there were other means for them to speak. 

Biden visited Ukraine six times as vice president. His last visit to Kyiv was in January 2017, days before leaving office. Before Monday, that visit remained the last highest-ranking visit to Ukraine, since neither Vice President Pence nor President Trump ever visited.

CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward described what she saw as US President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier on Monday.

The pair arrived outside the city’s St. Michael’s Church, Ward told CNN's Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, entering the building from behind before leaving about five minutes later just before air sirens began to wail.

The two leaders then walked out of the church together, following two soldiers who were carrying wreaths to a wall of the fallen, commemorating those who have lost their lives in combat.

Ward went on to say the two leaders stayed there for a moment to pay their respects before embracing each other, showing the “rapport” the leaders have, she said. 

Watch:

Sitting for talks with President Volodomyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, Joe Biden laid out his rationale for visiting the Ukrainian capital as the war enters a second year.

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about US support for Ukraine in the war,” the US President said. “The Ukrainian people have stepped up in a way that few people ever have in the past."

Biden emphasized there was broad, bipartisan support in Washington for the Ukrainian cause, even as some Republicans balk at providing further assistance.

Biden arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. local time (1:00 a.m. ET), according to reporters traveling with him inside Ukraine.

“It’s good to be back in Kyiv,” Biden said when he arrived. He was greeted by the US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink.

Biden's motorcade arrived to the Mariinsky Palace just after 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m.ET). He was greeted at the entrance by Zelensky and his wife, Olena Zelenska. 

“Thank you for coming,” Zelensky said shaking Biden’s hand. “More importantly, how are the children?” Biden asked, while adding: “It’s amazing to see you.”

Asked about the significance of being in Kyiv, Biden noted it was his eighth visit to the city. “Each time more significant,” Biden said. 

He added that the purpose of his visit was to convey to Zelensky that the US is “here to stay.” “We’re not leaving,” Biden said.

US President Joe Biden has been itching to visit Ukraine for months, particularly after several of his counterparts in Europe all made lengthy train journeys to meet with Zelensky in Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as former British leader Boris Johnson, have all made visits to the country to demonstrate their support.

Several of Biden’s top lieutenants, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have also visited the Ukrainian capital to pledge new assistance. Senior administration officials, including CIA Director Bill Burns and top White House officials, visited Kyiv last month.

Biden’s wife, Dr. Jill Biden, paid her own surprise visit on Mother’s Day last year to a small city in the far southwestern corner of Ukraine. She met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at a former school that was converted into temporary housing for displaced Ukrainians, including 48 children.

Yet security precautions had prevented Biden from making a similar trip. When he visited Poland in April last year, the White House did not even explore the potential for a trip across the border, even though Biden said he had voiced interest.

“They will not let me — understandably, I guess — cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” he said at the time.

US President Joe Biden has said he visited Kyiv to reaffirm the United States' "unwavering" support for Ukraine, announcing new military aid and a fresh swath of sanctions on the historic trip.

"As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," Biden said in a statement released by the White House.

The President confirmed another donation of US military equipment, and said that later this week his government "would announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine."

Biden is set to visit Poland later this week as he marks the anniversary of Russia's invasion.