Joe Biden meets with NATO allies in Poland after trip to Ukraine
Global News
The United States has sent more than US$24 billion in security assistance, but U.S. officials say the war may continue for many months or even years.
President Joe Biden, fresh from a visit to Kyiv, was set to reaffirm to U.S. allies on Tuesday that the United States is squarely behind Ukraine and committed to bolstering NATO’s eastern flank as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears.
Biden arrived in Warsaw late on Monday after a dramatic visit to Kyiv where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is seeking more weaponry as Ukraine gears up for a spring offensive against the Russians.
Biden will give a speech rallying support for Ukraine as the war enters its second year on Feb. 24 with no end in sight.
He was due to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda to discuss collective support for Ukraine and thank Warsaw for helping the United States and other countries to deliver military and humanitarian aid.
Poland has NATO’s longest border with Ukraine and has been the main route in for weapons and out for refugees. Duda’s foreign policy adviser said the men would also discuss Poland’s security, and scaling up NATO resources there.
“It is no secret that we will talk about increasing the presence, also in terms of infrastructure, of NATO,” Marcin Przydacz told private broadcaster TVN 24.
The visit was welcomed by ordinary Poles and by the 2.5 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children refugees from the conflict, now living in the country.
“We hope that they (the U.S.) will increase shipments of arms, that things at the front will improve and that we will win,” said Alina Kiiko, 32, a Ukrainian in central Warsaw.