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Why Won’t Joe Biden Go to Ukraine?

US President Joe Biden. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
US President Joe Biden. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he wasn’t sure whether he would travel to Ukraine, even as he continues to work with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to arm his military with heavy artillery and other supplies.

The president refused to commit to travel to the besieged European country.

Kyle Mazza of UNF News asked the president if he intends to visit the country as he walked past during a visit to New Hampshire.

“The answer is I don’t know,” the president responded.

When Mazza followed up by asking the president if he wants to visit Ukraine, Biden said that he has traveled to the country many times before.

“I’ve been to Ukraine many times, I just haven’t been there recently,” he said. “More than any other president, I’m the only one that’s spoken to the Rada twice.”

The Rada short of the Verkhovna Rada, is Ukraine’s unicameral parliament.

Zelenskyy Wants Biden to Visit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN on Sunday that he would like to see the U.S. president visit the country, but said that the decision is up to him.

“I think he will,” Zelenskyy said. “I mean, it’s his decision of course, and about the safety situation…it depends. I mean, that. But I think he’s the leader of the United States and that’s why she should come here to see.”

President Joe Biden would not be the first world leader to visit Ukraine, with several European leaders having already traveled to the country to discuss the ongoing invasion and Zelenskyy’s immediate needs to hold off Russian forces.

Who Has Visited So Far?

On Wednesday, the presidents of four countries neighboring Ukraine visited the country on Wednesday. The leaders of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland all met with Zelenskyy in Kiev. They also traveled to Borodyanka, a town besieged by the Russians.

“The fight for Europe’s future is happening here,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said.

Earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula Von Der Lyen also visited Zelenskyy in Kiev, pledging the European Union’s continued support of Ukraine’s efforts to fight off Russian invaders.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also visited Kiev this month, not just posing for photographs indoors with the Ukrainian president but walking the streets of the Ukrainian capital city to witness the destruction caused by Putin’s invasion.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to travel to Ukraine later this week, the Spanish government announced on Tuesday. The commitment, confirmed by Reuters, comes after Sanchez announced on Monday that Spain would re-open its embassy in Kiev, which was closed on February 24 as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

Written By

Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive's Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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