US President Joe Biden made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday morning, meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the capital city as air raid sirens wailed across almost the entire country. Images posted online before official confirmation came showed the two presidents walking together on a Kyiv street. The visit by Biden, who arrived from neighboring Poland where he was on an official visit, comes as Ukraine marks a year since the start of the Russian invasion. It is his first visit to the country since taking office as president in 2021. During the visit, Biden announced an additional half-billion dollars of assistance to Ukraine, including more military equipment, such as artillery ammunition, more javelins and Howitzers, and said that his government “would announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia’s war machine.” Speculation that Biden was due to visit began hours before his arrival, due to what was described as an unprecedented level of security in Kyiv. Biden has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the start of the invasion, sending billions of dollars in aid and materiel as the country battles to repel the invading Russian troops.
Also on Monday, two Israeli lawmakers who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, Ze’ev Elkin of the National Unity party and Yuli Edelstein of the Likud Party, arrived in Kyiv; They are leading a parliamentary friendship visit to mark the first year of Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion. Elkin and Edelstein are scheduled to meet in Ukraine’s parliament building with Ukrainian lawmakers, as well as with members of the Jewish community. Their visit comes on the heels of a visit last week to Kyiv by Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict, and reportedly also has provided some intelligence information. Ukraine continues to press Israel for defensive weapons, including Iron Dome missile defense systems. Israel has walked a fine line in assisting Ukraine, in order to not anger Russian President Vladimir Putin, who allows Israel to operate in neighboring Syria.