President of the United States, Joe Biden is set to consult with allies from NATO’s eastern flank in Poland on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine gets toward an even more complicated stage.
After paying an unannounced visit to Kyiv, Biden made his way to Warsaw on Monday on a mission to solidify Western unity as both Ukraine and Russia prepare to launch spring offensives.
The war, which is the most significant in Europe since World War II, has already left tens of thousands dead, devastated Ukraine’s infrastructure system and damaged the global economy.
“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war,” Biden stated as he stood with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv before departing for Poland.
“The Ukrainian people have stepped up in a way that few people ever have in the past,” Biden added.
Biden is scheduled to meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and deliver an address from the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle today, February 21, 2023, where he is expected to highlight the commitment of the central European country and other allies to Ukraine over the past year.
On Wednesday, February 22, 2023, The U.S President will consult with Duda and other leaders of the Bucharest Nine, a group of the easternmost members of NATO military alliance.
White House National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan noted that Biden would underscore in his Warsaw address that Russian President Vladimir Putin wrongly surmised “that Ukraine would cower and that the West would be divided” when he launched his invasion.
“He got the opposite of that across the board,” Sullivan said.
While Biden is looking to use his whirlwind trip to Europe as a moment of affirmation for Ukraine and allies, the White House has also emphasized that there is no clear endgame to the war in the near term and the situation on the ground has become increasingly complex.
Biden and Zelenskyy discussed capabilities that Ukraine needs “to be able to succeed on the battlefield” in the months ahead, Sullivan said. Zelenskyy has been pushing the U.S. and European allies to provide fighter jets and long-range missile systems known as ATACMS, which Biden has declined to provide so far.
Sullivan declined to comment on whether there was any movement on the matter during the leaders’ talk.
Critical Moment To Bolster European Unity
With no end in sight for the war, the anniversary is a critical moment for Biden to try to bolster European unity and reiterate that Putin’s invasion was a frontal attack on the post-World War II international order.
The White House hopes the President’s visit to Kyiv and Warsaw will help bolster American and global resolve.
Michal Baranowski, Managing Director of the German Marshall Fund East opined, “It is going to be a long war.”
“If we don’t have the political leadership and if we don’t explain to our societies why this war is critical for their security … then Ukraine would be in trouble,” he added.
Ahead of the trip, the White House spotlighted Poland’s efforts to assist Ukraine. More than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees have settled in Poland since the start of the war and millions more have crossed through Poland on their way to other countries.
Poland has also provided Ukraine with $3.8 billion in military and humanitarian aid, according to the White House.
The Biden administration announced last summer that it was establishing a permanent U.S. garrison in Poland, creating an enduring American foothold on NATO’s eastern flank.
The U.S. has committed about $113 billion in aid to Ukraine since last year, while European allies have committed tens of billions of dollars more and welcomed millions of Ukrainian refugees who have fled the conflict.
For the second time in less than a year, Biden will use Warsaw as the backdrop to deliver a major address on the Russian invasion.
Polish President Andrzej Duda disclosed that Biden’s presence on Polish soil as the war’s anniversary approaches sends an important signal about the U.S. commitment to European security.
“In Warsaw, the President will deliver a very important address; one that a large part of the world, if not the whole world actually, is waiting for.”
Andrzej Duda, President of Poland
