White House mulls sending top official to Kyiv after Euro leaders visit: report
President Biden said Thursday that he is considering sending a top US official to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in a show of support after several European leaders made the trip.
But Biden added that he remains undecided about whether to dispatch an emissary as the Russian military refocuses its invasion on the country’s eastern and southern regions.
“We’re making that decision now,” Biden said before boarding Air Force One for a trip to North Carolina.
Biden then asked reporters “are you ready to go?” — seeming to refer to his day trip, but creating confusion due to talk of a potential Ukraine trip immediately prior. When a reporter asked Biden, “are you?” the president answered, “yeah” before turning to board the plane.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are among the Cabinet members under consideration for a “surprise” trip, Politico reported Wednesday.
The discussions were reported days after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Zelensky and the two men walked the deserted streets of Kyiv in a show of solidarity after Russian troops pulled back from the capital city.
Biden lamented last month during a trip to Europe that “they will not let me” on Ukrainian soil and he is unlikely to be the one to go, Politico added. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that there were “no plans” for a presidential trip.
Vice President Kamala Harris is also not considered a likely candidate, even though she visited Poland and Romania last month.
Other leaders who visited Ukraine recently include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the presidents of Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania — who made the journey by train on Wednesday.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia visited Kyiv on March 15 despite heavy bombardment of the city three weeks into the Russian invasion.
If a decision is made to send a Cabinet official, it’s unlikely that an announcement would be made in advance because of security concerns, Politico reported. The outlet said the timing of any potential trip is uncertain because of developments on the ground in Ukraine.
The lack of an in-person visit from Biden when he traveled to Belgium and Poland drew a rebuke from Ukraine’s deputy prime minister earlier this week.
“It would have been a huge symbolic step to show that he is not afraid of the world’s rapist, of the world’s butcher, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, that has covered Europe in the bodies of Ukrainian women and that is conducting mass atrocities live on air,” Iryna Vereshchuk told CNN Monday. “And this would have been a symbolic and historic step, but it didn’t happen.”
At the time of the president’s March visit, Russian troops were involved in daily battles with Ukrainian forces in the suburbs surrounding Kyiv. They began to withdraw earlier this month in apparent preparation for a large-scale assault on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
To help counter that threat, Biden announced the authorization of an additional $800 million in new military aid, including heavy weapons and helicopters, after an hour-long call with Zelensky on Wednesday.
