Ajit Karn
US President Biden’s Weekend: Church, Dinner, Secret Trip To Kyiv
Washington: President Biden, who is perhaps the subject of the most intense media scrutiny on the globe, entered war-torn Kyiv in secret, leaving the international press and the Washington gossip machine in the dark.
As he arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Monday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden appeared at ease. But, it had taken a remarkable military, diplomatic, and media coup to bring him there.
The mission’s principal strategy was sophisticated deception.
The trip by Biden to Poland to commemorate the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine had been planned for some time. The 13-person travelling media entourage, the cohorts of aides, and security were prepared, as was the customised Boeing 747 he uses as Air Force One on lengthy journeys.
Therefore, with everything prepared for what was already looking like it would be a very significant trip, Biden put on a public display of relaxation throughout the weekend.
On Saturday, he went to church in the afternoon, went to the National Museum of American History with First Lady Jill Biden, and then had supper at the Red Hen, a quaint eatery.
Sunday? A day of relaxation was designated by the White House, and he had no plans.
Or so everyone was told, even the hundreds of reporters tasked with covering the White House.
At that time, the 80-year-old Biden, a few top advisers, and only two journalists had left for Kyiv, where they would arrive early on Monday.
Give the Russians a call
The specifics of their voyage are yet unknown.
Several European presidents have taken trains from Poland to Kiev, but it had long been thought less plausible that a US president, accompanied by a staff member who had access to the nuclear weapons codes, would get trapped in a train for hours.
Given the ongoing air conflicts and rocket assaults over Ukraine, flying has its own challenges.
It is yet uncertain if any air or ground forces from the US entered Ukraine to offer cover or if the Ukrainian military, which works closely with its American counterparts, secured the area.
But, the White House disclosed that direct communication with Russia had taken place shortly before Biden arrived, most likely in the form of a severe warning.
“We have informed the Russians about President Biden’s visit to Kiev. We did it for conflict-resolution reasons a few hours before his departure “Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said.
“I won’t delve into how they reacted or what the specifics of our message were because of the sensitive nature of those interactions.”
All information would be made public later, according to the White House, but Sullivan said that the trip itself was already “historic.”
In particular, during the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, American presidents have been to dangerous regions previously. Yet in both instances, the presidents landed at significant bases that the American military had already taken possession of.
Sullivan, one of the few advisers with Biden, called it a “historic tour, unique in modern times,” into a war-torn nation without American troops there.
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According to the reporter assigned to fill in for the regular travelling press corps, Biden departed Kyiv under similarly enigmatic circumstances. By the time Americans learned the news, Biden had already tweeted, “Kyiv has captivated a bit of my heart,” and he was now anticipated to reappear in Poland for the previously stated portion of his trip.
