On Sunday evening, US President Joe Biden embarked on a journey from a military base in Washington – only after landing in Kiev will it be known where he is flying to. According to American information, however, one country knows before departure that Biden wants to fly to Ukraine.
The United States informed Moscow about the trip ahead of US President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kiev. “We have notified the Russians that President Biden will be traveling to Kiev,” said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who was accompanying Biden. The notification was made “a few hours” before Biden’s departure, he added. Biden’s trip to Kiev was kept strictly secret from the public for security reasons.
Due to the “sensitive nature of the exchange,” Sullivan said he declined to elaborate on the nature of the notification or Russia’s response.
It required a “security and logistical effort by professionals across the US government” to bring the trip to “a manageable level of risk,” Sullivan added. It was still a risky endeavor, he said, but Biden felt “it was important to make that journey.” Only two journalists were allowed to accompany the US President.
Biden left an air force base near Washington on Sunday morning. White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said she could not provide any further details on exactly how Biden traveled to Ukraine until “the trip is fully completed.”
The US President surprisingly traveled to Kiev this Tuesday. It was his first visit to Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24 and the first visit by a US president to the country since 2008.
