Polish official calls Biden’s Kyiv visit ‘show of support’

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - US President Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv is a "visible show of support" for Ukraine, a senior Polish official said on Monday, as the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's war.

Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv early Monday, ahead of his planned two-day visit to Poland. He is scheduled to visit Warsaw on Tuesday where he will meet Polish President Andrzej Duda.

In a statement, Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau of the President of Poland, said Duda, "was very optimistic" after the arrival of the US leader in the Ukrainian capital.

“With his presence in Kyiv, President Biden confirms the American commitment to continued support for Ukraine and faith in its victory,” he said.

Przydacz added that he was pleased to receive information about the further transfer of arms to Ukraine, as “Poland has been encouraging this for many months. It brings us a lot closer to peace."

“The sooner Russia understands that it must withdraw from this war, the better and safer it will be for all of us,” he said.

According to the White House, in Warsaw Biden will also meet "leaders of our Eastern Flank Allies (Bucharest Nine), as well as deliver remarks on how the United States will continue to rally the world to support the people of Ukraine and the core values of human rights and dignity in the UN Charter that unite us worldwide."

​​​​​​​The so-called B-9 countries are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

In Kyiv, Biden met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said the US and the world still stand with Ukraine.