Yesterday President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The visit was coordinated with the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of the country and after $113 billion in U.S. taxpayer funded aid and weapons support.
President Zelenskyy and all Ukrainians remind the world every day what courage is.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 20, 2023
They remind us that freedom is priceless.
And worth fighting for.
For as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/GlBT0Sg9ZL
While Biden walked the streets with Zelensky (a former actor), sirens indicating missiles were incoming started blaring. They were unfazed. The Secret Service took the same posture.
Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy ignore air raid sirens and go for a stroll in central Kyivpic.twitter.com/R8vZQG6UBA
— Business Ukraine mag (@Biz_Ukraine_Mag) February 20, 2023
Coincidently, those sirens have been absent in recent days, prompting questions about whether they were used for propaganda purposes while Biden walked the streets with Zelensky.
CNN's Alex Marquardt: "I've been here for the past five days. I have not heard any explosions. I have not heard any air sirens, until about half an hour ago, right when President Biden was in the center of Kyiv." pic.twitter.com/hPKmXSjgpr
— Kevin Tober (@KevinTober94) February 20, 2023
On Monday, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby confirmed the White House contacted Russia about Biden's trip before he arrived. Two days ago, Kirby told the American people there were no plans for Biden to enter Ukraine.
"We obviously are maintaining a high degree of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. The United States leads the world in terms of contributions, whether it’s humanitarian assistance or military weapons to Ukraine, and we’re going to continue to use our convening power, to marshal the world, to galvanize support for Ukraine, but there are no plans for the president to enter Ukraine on this trip," Kirby said during an interview with The Sunday Show.
On Tuesday, the White House sent out a "fact sheet" touting U.S. support for Ukraine, pledging there will be more for as "long as it takes."