Joe Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine

“This is so much larger than just Ukraine… it’s about freedom and democracy writ large”

President Joe Biden pays a surprise visit to Kyiv for talks with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as air raid alarms sound in the Ukrainian capital https://t.co/vRqlhZHP9k pic.twitter.com/1DCXmgM9BF

— Bloomberg (@business) February 20, 2023

This is incredibly insulting.

Today on our President’s Day, Joe Biden, the President of the United States chose Ukraine over America, while forcing the American people to pay for Ukraine’s government and war.

I can not express how much Americans hate Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/nHXzG67YOL

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene?? (@RepMTG) February 20, 2023

Barring some dramatic turn of events in the war before the 2024 election, it is going to be Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump or more of this for the next five to six years.

USA Today:

“Thank you so much for coming Mr. President at a huge moment for Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky said in remarks before a bilateral meeting with Biden. “I really appreciate that President Biden, American society have been from the very beginning …  of this war have been together with us.” …

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden said. …

”He wanted to demonstrate the strength of his commitment to his strategy of holding the West together, and the united front against Putin,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said in a briefing. …”

Salon:

“Biden walked down the streets of the Ukrainian capital with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as air sirens blared in the background, CNN reported. The show of support came months after Zelenskyy traveled to D.C. to meet with Biden in the Oval Office and address a joint session of Congress.

“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” Biden said, announcing a $500 million package of additional assistance to Ukraine, including military equipment and ammunition.

Biden also announced new sanctions against Russia over its “brutal invasion.”

“When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong,” Biden said, adding that later this week the government will “announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine.” …”

Eliot Cohen responds in The Atlantic.

The Atlantic:

“

The long-range missiles matter.  So do the super-accurate artillery shells, the surface-to-air missiles, and the winter weather gear; the training in the English countryside or the muddy Grafenwöhr maneuver grounds; and the intelligence provided from the eyes in space and the ears on airplanes that circle outside the battlezone.

President Biden’s visit to Kyiv matters just as much as any of these.

Other heads of government preceded him, earning deserved credit. But it is an altogether different thing when the president of the United States—who is, indeed, the leader of the Free World—shows up. His words mattered. He pledged “our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” And even more importantly, that the United States will stand with Ukraine “as long as it takes.” …“