Biden visit ‘unprecedented in modern times’, says US national security adviser
Julian Borger
The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said Biden’s visit to Kyiv was “unprecedented in modern times” on the grounds that it was the first time a US president had visited “the capital of the country at war where the United States military does not control the critical infrastructure”.
That, White House officials are saying, is the distinction between this trip and previous presidential visits to Afghanistan and Iraq. In those countries, there was a massive US military presence, but there is none in Ukraine, and a minimal diplomatic presence too.
“That required a security operational logistical effort from professionals across the US government to take what was an inherently risky undertaking and make it a manageable level of risk,” Sullivan said.
But of course, there was still risk and is still risk in an endeavour like this, and President Biden felt that it was important to make this trip because of the critical juncture that we find ourselves at as we approach the one year anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine.
White House officials said that Biden finally gave the go-ahead for the trip on Friday after receiving a final security briefing.
Key events
Summary of the day so far
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
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Joe Biden has visited Kyiv, defying threats of Russian missile attacks, as Ukraine prepares to mark the sombre anniversary of last year’s full-scale Russian invasion. The US president, closely surrounded by a large security detail, was escorted by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on a walkabout around central Kyiv as air sirens could be heard.
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Biden announced a new package of additional US weapons supplies to Ukraine worth $500m (£415m) including artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radars. The timing of his visit to Kyiv – before a planned address by Vladimir Putin – was seen as a deliberate rebuke of the Russian president.
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Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and Biden spoke about “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine, even though it wasn’t supplied before”. But he did not detail any new commitments.
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Biden’s visit to Kyiv came as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels. The 27-nation bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the EU needs to ensure that Ukraine has enough ammunition to continue its fight against the Russian invasion. “It is the most urgent issue. If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger. The Russian artillery shoots about 50,000 shots a day, and Ukraine needs to be at the same level of capacity. They have cannons but they lack ammunition.”
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Fighting continues in the east of Ukraine and Russia regularly carries out missile attacks beyond the frontlines. Russian troops reportedly shelled the Kharkiv region three times on Monday morning: two people were injured, a woman may be under the rubble of a private residential building.
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Russia probably lacks the reserves to dramatically increase the scale or intensity of its offensive in Luhansk this winter, the Institute for the Study of War has said in its latest intelligence update. The US thinktank added that Russian forces likely secured small gains in the northern suburbs of Bakhmut and in its eastern outskirts.
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Russia will claim that Bakhmut has been captured to align with the anniversary, regardless of the reality on the ground, the UK Ministry of Defence has claimed. Russian forces are likely under increasing political pressure as the anniversary of the invasion draws near, the latest British intelligence report says.
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The head of the Russian mercenary Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has acknowledged a “major problem” with ammunition supplies for his fighters, accusing Russian officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition. In an emotional seven-minute-long audio message published on his official Telegram channel, he said he was required to “apologise and obey” to someone “high up” who he has a “difficult relationship with” in order to secure ammunition
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Japan will pledge a new £4.6bn financial aid package for Ukraine, the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has announced. Kishida, speaking at a global forum in Tokyo, also said he would mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by hosting an online Group of Seven (G7) summit with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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Zelenskiy has warned that there will be a “world war” if China decides to support Russia in its war on Ukraine. Speaking ahead of a visit by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to Moscow today, Zelenskiy said Kyiv would like Beijing “to be on our side” in an interview with Die Welt. “If China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that,” he said.
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The Kremlin has confirmed a visit by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to Moscow today. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, has told Washington to keep out of its relationship with Moscow, after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, warned against Beijing providing material support to Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.
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Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said she told Chinese diplomats that Beijing is “responsible for world peace” and must not ship any weapons to Russia. Baerbock, speaking to journalists in Brussels today, said she had raised the issue during the Munich Security Conference last week.
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The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Moldova as “very tense” and accused its leaders of pursuing an “anti-Russian” agenda. Moldova’s parliament last week approved the formation of a new pro-western government led by the new prime minister, Dorin Recean, who has vowed to pursue a pro-European path and also called for the demilitarisation of the breakaway region of Transnistria in the east of Moldova. The Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, has accused Moscow of plotting to topple the country’s leadership, stop it joining the EU and use it in the war against Ukraine.
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Russia has been trying to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea, according to the Dutch intelligence agency MIVD. A Russian ship was detected at an offshore windfarm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, before being escorted by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful, MIVD head, Gen Jan Swillens, said.
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Russia poses a clear military threat in Sweden’s immediate area but its forces are largely tied up in the war in Ukraine, the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service (Must) has said. Lena Hallin, head of Must, also said she expected Russia to strengthen its military capability in Sweden’s immediate area when it was possible, in response to Sweden and Finland applying for Nato membership.
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More than 30 countries, including the US, Britain and France, have pledged their support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sporting events, a statement from the UK government has said.
More than 30 countries, including the US, Britain and France, have pledged their support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in international sporting events, a statement from the UK government has said.
The statement comes after ministers from 35 countries attended an online meeting earlier this month to discuss the banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has opened the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, arguing that its inclusion of Russians and Belarusians is based on a UN resolution against discrimination within the Olympic movement.
But in the statement published today, the group of 30 countries said there are “serious concerns about how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete on a neutral basis given they are directly funded and supported by their state”.
It continues:
There are clear concerns over the strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military.
Germany warns China not to supply weapons to Russia
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said she told Chinese diplomats that Beijing is “responsible for world peace” and must not ship any weapons to Russia.
Baerbock, speaking to journalists in Brussels today, said she had raised the issue during the Munich Security Conference last week.
She said:
I made it clear that China in particular, as a member of the Security Council, is responsible for world peace in the situation we are currently experiencing with the Russian war of aggression, which is also a breach of international law.
Her remarks came after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Saturday said China may be about to provide lethal aid to help Russia in the war in Ukraine.
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the US was “in no position to make demands of China”.
Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said the UK would provide “more advanced capabilities across land, across sea, and across air” to Ukraine.
Cleverly, speaking in the House of Commons, said:
In 2023 we shall, at very least, match the £2.3bn of military aid we gave last year. And we shall add more advanced capabilities across land, across sea, and across air.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has also been speaking in the Commons, where he called for the UK and western allies to send the military equipment Ukraine says it needs, from anti-tank missiles to Himars missiles.
It is “crucial” that the west accelerates its support for Ukraine and gives them “the tools to finish the job”, Johnson said, warning that Vladimir Putin will “twist his knife in the wound” and “bide his time” until he can attack again unless he is “purged” from Ukrainian territory.
There is no conceivable grounds for delay in getting [the weapons] to Ukraine. We need those machines – Abrams, Challengers, Leopards – to make a real difference in real-time in the next few weeks, not next year.
Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has also posted to social media about his meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Kristalina Georgieva.
Shmyhal said he hoped to clinch a multi-year support programme of at least $15bn for Ukraine, following talks in Kyiv with Georgieva.
Joe Biden wasn’t the only high-profile figure to travel to Kyiv to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy today.
The Ukrainian president also welcomed the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, in the Ukrainian capital, Zelenskiy posted to Telegram.
He wrote:
The IMF’s support creates an opportunity for Ukraine to remain strong. It is also a weapon – an economic weapon that allows us, our society, and our business to develop.
The street lights are back on in central Kyiv, my colleague Isobel Koshiw writes.
EU member countries should approve the latest package of sanctions against Russia “in the next hours”, the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said.
Borrell, speaking to reporters, said:
It is going to be approved in the next hours, in the next hours. Before the 24th (of February) in any case.
The proposed 10th package of sanctions, estimated to be worth some €11bn in trade flows, is designed to make financing the war more difficult and starve Russia of parts needed to build arms for the front.
The measures, which still require the unanimous approval of all EU states, would target four more Russian banks, imports from Russia, including rubber, and exports to Russia including heavy vehicles, among others.
They would also punish individuals linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards over the production of drones used against Ukraine, and restrict EU sales of satellite data to China.
Here are some more of the images we have been sent over the news wires of Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv today.
The Ukrainian military will be “ready” to respond to any possible “provocative actions” by Moscow around the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force command said.
Ukraine’s air force is “on stand-by 24/7, our job is to be ready at all times”, Yurii Ihnat told CNN, without elaborating on any possible specific threats.
Luke Harding
After a week of freezing temperatures, Kyiv woke on Monday morning to a perfect blue sky.
Spring had arrived. And so had someone else.
The centre of the Ukrainian capital with its cobbled streets and ethereal gold-domed churches was mysteriously closed off. The main Zhytomyr Avenue – the route in from the west of the country – was shut too. Even the trains were late.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion a year ago numerous foreign leaders have come to Kyiv to meet Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But Monday’s security measures were unprecedented. As videos circulated of a vast cavalcade of vehicles speeding through the centre of the city the rumours reached fever pitch. Could they be true? Sometime after breakfast it turned out they were – Joe Biden was in town, dropping by for an extraordinary visit.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the US president had reached Kyiv, arriving at 8am local time. It is a city without a functioning airport. A seasoned traveller on Amtrak, he appears to have got there by train. Since last autumn Russian warplanes have fired ballistic missiles at the capital, in an attempt to destroy its infrastructure and to immiserate its citizens. Nobody quite knows where the next bomb will fall, or when.
A decision to go to Ukraine was made only on Friday, after a huddle of top officials in the Oval Office, the White House said. The visit was meticulously planned. The Biden administration informed Moscow about the trip a few hours after the president took off early on Sunday from Andrews air force base in Maryland. The Russians were briefed for “deconfliction reasons”, officials in Washington said.
Whatever the long route to Kyiv, the images on Monday morning told their own remarkable story.
Read the full report by Luke Harding:
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said Vladimir Putin is “destroying our future” just to make “our country look bigger on the map”.
In a series of posts on his Twitter feed, which is maintained by his associates as he serves an 11 1/2 prison sentence, Navalny said Russia had hit “rock bottom” and that its troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine.
“Tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainians have been murdered and pain and suffering have befallen millions more” because of Putin’s “desire to hold on to power at any cost”, he said.
He wrote:
The combination of aggressive warfare, corruption, inept generals, weak economy, and heroism and high motivation of the defending forces can only result in defeat.
Russia must “leave Ukraine alone”, he continued. “Stop the aggression, end the war and withdraw all of its troops from Ukraine.”
Wagner boss says he had to ‘apologise and obey’ for ammunition
The head of the Russian mercenary Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has acknowledged a “major problem” with ammunition supplies for his fighters, accusing Russian officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition.
“This is a major problem,” Prigozhin said in an emotional seven-minute-long audio message published on his official Telegram channel.
He said he was required to “apologise and obey” to someone “high up” who he has a “difficult relationship with” in order to secure ammunition for his fighters. Speaking at times with a raised voice and occasionally swearing, he said:
I’m unable to solve this problem despite all my connections and contacts.
Russia’s military production was now sufficient to supply the forces fighting at the front, he said, claiming the supply difficulties his fighters were experiencing were the result of conscious decisions.
Prigozhin said the unspecified individuals he blamed for the shortage of ammunition were “eating breakfast, lunch and dinner off golden plates” and sending their relatives on holiday to Dubai, a popular destination for the Russian elite.
Those who interfere with us trying to win this war are absolutely, directly working for the enemy.
It is not possible to independently verify Prigozhin’s claims.
The EU should use its full economic and legal force to punish those who enable the evasion of sanctions against Russia, Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra has said.
Hoekstra, speaking at the College of Europe in Bruges, said the EU should use its collective economic strength and criminal justice systems to prevent the measures being circumvented.
The EU should set up a “sanctions headquarters” in Brussels where countries can pool their information and resources in the fight against such evasion, he said.
This new HQ would establish a watch list of sectors and trade flows with a high circumvention risk. Companies will be obliged to include end-use clauses in their contracts, so that their products don’t end up in the Russian war machine.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
-
Joe Biden has visited Kyiv, defying threats of Russian missile attacks, as Ukraine prepares to mark the sombre anniversary of last year’s full-scale Russian invasion. The US president, closely surrounded by a large security detail, was escorted by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on a walkabout around central Kyiv as air sirens could be heard.
-
Biden announced a new package of additional US weapons supplies to Ukraine worth $500m (£415m) including artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radars. The timing of his visit to Kyiv – before a planned address by Vladimir Putin – was seen as a deliberate rebuke of the Russian president.
-
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and Biden spoke about “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine, even though it wasn’t supplied before”. But he did not detail any new commitments.
-
Biden’s visit to Kyiv came as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels. The 27-nation bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the EU needs to ensure that Ukraine has enough ammunition to continue its fight against the Russian invasion. “It is the most urgent issue. If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger. The Russian artillery shoots about 50,000 shots a day, and Ukraine needs to be at the same level of capacity. They have cannons but they lack ammunition.”
-
Fighting continues in the east of Ukraine and Russia regularly carries out missile attacks beyond the frontlines. Russian troops reportedly shelled the Kharkiv region three times on Monday morning: two people were injured, a woman may be under the rubble of a private residential building.
-
Russia probably lacks the reserves to dramatically increase the scale or intensity of its offensive in Luhansk this winter, the Institute for the Study of War has said in its latest intelligence update. The US thinktank added that Russian forces likely secured small gains in the northern suburbs of Bakhmut and in its eastern outskirts.
-
Russia will claim that Bakhmut has been captured to align with the anniversary, regardless of the reality on the ground, the UK Ministry of Defence has claimed. Russian forces are likely under increasing political pressure as the anniversary of the invasion draws near, the latest British intelligence report says.
-
Japan will pledge a new £4.6bn financial aid package for Ukraine, the prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has announced. Kishida, speaking at a global forum in Tokyo, also said he would mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by hosting an online Group of Seven (G7) summit with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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Zelenskiy has warned that there will be a “world war” if China decides to support Russia in its war on Ukraine. Speaking ahead of a visit by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to Moscow today, Zelenskiy said Kyiv would like Beijing “to be on our side” in an interview with Die Welt. “If China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that,” he said.
-
The Kremlin has confirmed a visit by China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, to Moscow today. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, has told Washington to keep out of its relationship with Moscow, after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, warned against Beijing providing material support to Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.
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The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Moldova as “very tense” and accused its leaders of pursuing an “anti-Russian” agenda. Moldova’s parliament last week approved the formation of a new pro-western government led by the new prime minister, Dorin Recean, who has vowed to pursue a pro-European path and also called for the demilitarisation of the breakaway region of Transnistria in the east of Moldova. The Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, has accused Moscow of plotting to topple the country’s leadership, stop it joining the EU and use it in the war against Ukraine.
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Russia has been trying to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea, according to the Dutch intelligence agency MIVD. A Russian ship was detected at an offshore windfarm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, before being escorted by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful, MIVD head, Gen Jan Swillens, said.
-
Russia poses a clear military threat in Sweden’s immediate area but its forces are largely tied up in the war in Ukraine, the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service (Must) has said. Lena Hallin, head of Must, also said she expected Russia to strengthen its military capability in Sweden’s immediate area when it was possible, in response to Sweden and Finland applying for Nato membership.
Good afternoon from London. I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’m here to bring you all the latest developments from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy embraced after laying wreaths at a memorial wall for fallen soldiers, during the US president’s visit to Ukraine earlier today.
Biden got a brief first-hand taste of the terror that Ukrainians have lived with for close to a year as air raid sirens sounded over the city.
Russian state media is reporting that six Russian servicemen were killed in a bunker in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine.
Citing emergency services, state-owned Tass news agency writes that the fire occurred near the village of Ulanok, less than 10km (6 miles) from Ukraine’s northeastern border.
Seven servicemen were inside the bunker at the time of the incident, emergency services said. Six died while a seventh person was injured.
Russia says relations with Moldova ‘very tense’
The Kremlin has described Russia’s relations with Moldova as “very tense” and accused its leaders of pursuing an “anti-Russian” agenda.
Moldova’s parliament last week approved the formation of a new pro-western government led by the new prime minister, Dorin Recean, after the previous administration resigned en masse amid a series of crises in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The new administration has vowed to pursue a pro-European path and also called for the demilitarisation of Transnistria, a breakaway region in the east of Moldova where 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed region.
During his regular briefing with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was acting “responsibly” with regard to peacekeeping forces it has stationed in the breakaway region and warned Moldova against inflaming the situation further.
He said:
Our relations with Moldova are already very tense. The leadership always focuses on everything anti-Russian, they are slipping into anti-Russian hysteria.
The Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, has accused Russia of trying to destabilise Moldova and has accused Moscow of plotting to topple the country’s leadership, stop it joining the EU and use it in the war against Ukraine.
Sandu’s comments came after Moldova’s intelligence service reported that it had identified “subversive activities”, after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Kyiv had intercepted a “plan for the destruction of Moldova” by Russian intelligence.