President Biden will travel to Poland on Feb. 20 to 22 to mark the one-year anniversary since Russia invaded Ukraine, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced on Friday.
Jean-Pierre said Biden will deliver remarks ahead of the one year anniversary of the invasion, which will involve “addressing how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
National security spokesman John Kirby said he did not have “any additional stops to preview” during the Poland trip when asked about a potential stop in Ukraine.
Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda on the trip, as well as leaders of the Bucharest Nine, which is a group of eastern flank NATO allies.
Kirby would not preview any announcements on further aid to Ukraine during the trip, but said that Biden “will certainly make clear that additional security assistance, additional financial assistance, additional help for Ukraine will be coming from the United States.”
The announcement comes after Biden told reporters on Thursday that there’s “a possibility” he will travel to Poland for the anniversary.
The president visited Poland in March, one month into the invasion. On that trip, the president said that Russian President Vladimir Putin can’t stay in power, a major moment that sparked the White House to try to walk back the comment.
Biden, earlier this week, said that Putin has “already lost Ukraine,” in an interview with PBS. He also stressed his support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion during the State of the Union on Tuesday and recognized Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., in the audience.
Source: The Hill
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