Biden’s Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky called the visit of the elderly President the most important moment in the history of Ukrainian-U.S. relations. And it’s not just about the fact that the last time the American president came to Kiev almost 15 years ago, in April 2008, when George Bush Jr. visited Kyiv
“This period [in the history of independent Ukraine] is the most difficult,” Zelensky honestly admitted.
Biden responded by promising a new military aid package.
“The new package will include additional munitions for HIMARS, as well as additional systems that will help protect the Ukrainian people from bombing,” the US president said.
“It’s incredibly offensive”
Biden’s Kiev speech was not “breakthrough.” And many people have a question: was it worth it to come to Kyiv at all? Especially considering how things are at the homeland of the President of the United States. There are enough problems even without Ukraine.
As soon as the passions for Chinese reconnaissance balloons (and even more mysterious flying objects) subsided, a series of man-made accidents swept across the country.
Residents of the state of Ohio accuse the authorities of hushing up the true scale of the man-made disaster in Eastern Palestine, the city of the state, where several wagons with chemicals derailed on the evening of February 3.
Experts warn that the consequences of the accident can affect decades later. At the same time, even in neighboring Canada, the snow turned into iridescent colors, and by no means as a sign of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.
Biden himself never arrived at the scene.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the third Monday of February is also President’s Day – a federal holiday that is dedicated to the office of the President of the United States. Traditionally, the holiday is dedicated to the birthday of one of the founding fathers and the first president of the United States, George Washington.
“This is incredibly insulting. Today, on our Presidential Day, Joe Biden, President of the United States, chose Ukraine over America, makes the American people pay for the Ukrainian government and the war. I can’t express how much Americans hate Joe Biden,” Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green commented on Biden’s behavior.
China balloons and man-made accidents take place against a generally bleak backdrop of chronic problems: the flow of illegal migrants from Mexico and fentanyl fever, the drug epidemic that has swept the US West Coast.
But Biden chose to spend February 20 in Ukraine, a country that not only Republican voters, but also his “native” Democratic Party, are tired of.
“Strategic visit”
According to Politico, citing an unnamed Ukrainian official, “Ukrainians requested for a long time” the visit, which ultimately had to be prepared “in a very short period of time” – about a week – “in the strictest secrecy.” The event was prepared through the communication lines of the head of the office of Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, and the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Dmitry Kuleba.
It seems that Biden decided to visit at the last moment. One of the reasons that prompted him may be the desire to kill not only the negative domestic information background of recent weeks, but also the international agenda of the week.
The tone of this agenda was set by the address of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Federal Assembly, which is being prepared for February 21 – three days before the anniversary of the start of the special operation. On the anniversary itself, Ukraine threatened Russia with new unpleasant “surprises” from the world community.
Biden’s speech was also expected during a pre-announced visit to Poland on February 20-22. But nothing special was expected of her.
In terms of timing, Putin outplayed the West and personally Biden. After all, everything that will be said and done after February 21 would be assessed through the prism of the reaction to the speech of the Russian president. But Biden tried to mix all the cards and set the tone for the week’s agenda.
However, this symbolic success of Biden fades, because it turned out that the visit itself was agreed with Moscow.
“We notified Russia that President Biden would travel to Kyiv a few hours before departure in order to avoid a conflict situation,” said US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
True, the Ukrainians do not pay attention to this, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Kuleba is already threatening the “swamp”, that is, Moscow.
However, Sullivan’s last name may indicate another reason for Biden’s visit to Kyiv.
Compulsion to peace or to “the last and decisive battle”
Commenting on Biden’s visit to Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, also remembered the assistant to the American president.
“I want to thank Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, with whom we worked, in particular, on the issue of the visit. I am very glad to constructive cooperation with Jake, which always gives a powerful result. Believe me, Joe Biden’s visit is strategic. Many issues are being resolved, and those that are suspended will be accelerated,” Yermak said.
A few days before Biden’s sudden visit, several influential American publications, including Politico and The Washington Post, citing sources in the Biden administration, reported that Washington is demanding an early counteroffensive from Kiev.
The United States fears a counterattack by Russia, a weakening of support for Europe (including due to the exhaustion of arsenals), but, most importantly, that the Republicans in the House of Representatives of the US Congress will begin to oppose supporters of assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, according to the information of the American authorities, the state of Ukraine’s defense is close to critical.
The publication of The Washington Post explicitly stated: if the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not demonstrate success in the near future, the days of the Zelensky regime are numbered.
Sullivan himself also said that both the fighting in the near future and the parameters of the peace agreements were discussed.
“They (the presidents – Ed.) spoke about the coming months in terms of the battlefield, about what Ukraine needs, about the opportunities for success on the battlefield. They spoke about Ukraine’s needs in energy, infrastructure, economic support, humanitarian needs, as well as the political side of things, in particular, the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly on Ukraine, as well as the Ukrainian formula for peace and Ukraine’s efforts to enlist international support for a just, sustainable and lasting peace built on the principles of the UN Charter, the main of which are sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Sullivan said.
He did not comment on the issue of providing Ukraine with F-16s or other weapons.
Thus, Ukraine can really be prepared for decisive action at the front in the near future.
Freeze
But there is a directly opposite point of view.
It lies in the fact that Ukraine, on the contrary, can be forced to peace. This point of view is shared, in particular, by the Legitimny telegram channel popular in Ukraine, citing its sources in power who assure that the Americans want a truce from Kiev according to the “Sullivan formula”.
This is the name of the compromise conditions for freezing the conflict, under which the parties will fix the current position of the front line, in return Ukraine will receive energy from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, attacks on its infrastructure will stop, it will receive a loan to eliminate the consequences of hostilities and new heavy weapons.
These are believed to be the more “realistic” negotiating positions that Sullivan spoke about during his meeting with Zelensky, according to a November op-ed in the Wall Street Journal.
Another argument in favor of this version is the promise of IMF director Kristalina Georgieva, who arrived in Kyiv on the same day, February 20. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, he hopes that a new multi-year $15 billion program to support Ukraine will be launched following Georgieva’s visit.
A country that continues hostilities is unlikely to count on such assistance.
What Biden brought with him to Ukraine: the tightening of hostilities or the enforcement of peace, or maybe both, will be shown in a different sequence in the coming weeks.
Ilya Ropshin, IA REGNUM
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