President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv on Monday required months of preparation. It was not until Friday (17 February) that Biden decided to go effectively. This is how it went behind the scenes.
After months of intensive planning, multiple White House sources confirmed to Reuters, Biden had only finally made the decision last Friday: he would travel to Ukraine. Before dawn on Sunday morning (19 February), Biden headed for Andrews Air Force Base (ADW) in Maryland, just outside Washington, with only three employees. There he boarded an Air Force C-32 (the military version of the Boeing 757), to Europe, deliberately a smaller plane than Air Force One. On board also a small medical staff and the necessary security. Only one journalist and one photographer travelled along.
From Washington, the president first flew to Ramstein Air Force Base (RMS) in Germany. There the aircraft was able to refuel and then continue to Rzeszow in southeastern Poland. From there, the president and his retinue drove silently and without sirens in eight cars for an hour to Przemysl, a town on the Polish-Ukrainian border, where they boarded a train for the ten-hour journey to Kyiv. Night had fallen when the president and his retinue boarded the train in Przemysl. The party travelled to the Ukrainian capital in the dark and under heavy security.
On Monday morning (20 February) around 08:00, the train with Biden and his entourage reached the station in the Ukrainian capital. The American ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, was waiting for them on the platform, which had been cleared. “It’s nice to be back in Kyiv,” Biden said as he stepped out. Russia has been informed of Biden’s trip a few hours in advance.
After his visit to Kyiv and his meeting with Ukraine President Zelenskyy, Biden got back on the train to Przemysl and then by car to Rzeszow. From there he travelled with the same C-32 aircraft to Warsaw for an official visit to Polish authorities.
President Biden will leave Poland in his traditional VC-25 (Boeing 747-200) Air Force One, which arrived at Warsaw Chopin Airport on the morning of 21 February.
This post was published on 21 February 2023 12:40
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