As Russia-Ukraine War Nears One Year, Biden Makes Unannounced Visit To Kyiv

United States President Joe Biden on Monday (20 February) made an unannounced visit to Ukrainian capital Kyiv, his first-ever visit to the war-torn country since taking office.

Biden's visit to Kyiv also comes days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

During his visit, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"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.

Biden said that during his visit to Kyiv, he would announce "another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars" to Ukraine.

Further, Biden announced that later this week, the US will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to "evade or backfill Russia’s war machine".

On 24 February last year, Russia announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine's Donbass region after the separatists leaders there asked Moscow for military assistance in response to what they claimed was an increase in “Ukrainian aggression.”

Initially, Moscow made rapid advances but after US and its ally started backing Ukraine with weapons as wells as sanctions on Russia, the Ukrainian military was able to pushback the Russian troops.

The Russia-Ukraine war has so far caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and instigated Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.