Almost every weekend, U.S. President Joe Biden leaves the White House presidential palace and returns to his home villa in Delaware for the weekend.
Last weekend, Biden did not return to his hometown to rest, but quietly left the United States, starting his long-lost but short-lived trip to Ukraine.
Bear hug
Biden embraced Zelensky
The feeling of a "father and son" reunion
On February 20, local time, Biden arrived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, less than three months apart, Biden and Zelensky reunited. The last time they met was on December 21, 2022, when it was Zelensky who went to Washington, the capital of the United States.
The last time they met, the etiquette of the two remained at the level of shaking hands and shoulders. As soon as they met this time, Zelensky was like a child who had been greatly wronged, threw himself into the arms of his old father Biden, and hugged Biden tightly with both hands. At this time, Biden also seemed to empathize, showing distress.
From this "bear hug" alone, you can see how much Zelensky is looking forward to meeting Biden in Kiev, which is the "relative" he most wants to see.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Zelensky
British Prime Minister Sunak with Zelensky
Zelensky with French President Emmanuel Macron
Previously, when French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Sunak, and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau met with Zelensky, they had never had such a cordial gesture. Especially to Macron, Zelensky even showed an expression that he did not want to hold.
tie
The First Lady of Ukraine, Biden and Zelensky
Blue and yellow striped tie
The two times Biden met Zelensky, he wore a blue and yellow striped tie. The flag of Ukraine is also blue and yellow. In March last year, Biden also wore a tie of this color when he announced sanctions against Russian oil.
One of Biden's ties can be said to convey to Ukraine the gesture of "Daddy and I, always support you behind your back".
State of the Union 2022 address
State of the Union 2023 address
Don't underestimate a tie. At the time of the release of the 2022 and 2023 State of the Union addresses (government annual report), Biden wore a tie with white spots and a blue background. Blue is usually the symbolic color of the Democratic Party of the United States, and red is usually the symbolic color of the Republican Party in the United States.
Of course, this time the tie is only a small supporting role.
Biden's ability to come to Kiev in person is the most powerful encouragement to Zelensky and his officials.
Ukrainian government officials said that the Ukrainian people have long asked for a visit from the US president. Zelensky said that for Ukraine, this is an important historical moment.
invigorate
Biden is really similar to the elderly American team in "Avengers 4"
After meeting Zelensky, Biden encouraged: "Kiev holds on." Ukraine holds up. Democracy holds. The Americans stand with Ukraine. The world stands with Ukraine. ”
Before Biden, U.S. presidents, Trump, Obama, and George W. Bush have all been to battlefields where U.S. troops are directly involved and stationed, such as Afghanistan and Iraq.
Biden's visit to Ukraine this time did not have the direct participation of US troops and the stationing of US troops, and the war has not yet stopped. Therefore, when Biden arrived in Ukraine, some netizens in the United States lamented that Biden was the example of the US president, praising him for bravely entering dangerous places, which was really "heroic and fearless".
Although it is not a battlefield for the US military, is Ukraine not fighting for the United States? As former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said, brave Ukrainians are doing the dirty work that the United States never wanted to do, so the United States should continue to support Ukraine in all it can.
Biden's trip is a statement on Ukraine: the United States continues to support Ukraine, don't be afraid.
This trip to Ukraine can be said to be a "Captain America" drama starring Biden. In order to be able to stage safely, Biden's team did enough preparation and secrecy, carefully along the way, and even greeted Russia in advance.
secrecy
Biden on the train
According to US media reports, this is a carefully planned visit for several months. Planned by a team of people from the White House Chief of Staff's Office, the National Security Council, the White House Military Office, the Pentagon, the U.S. Secret Service and intelligence services, they did enough security and secrecy.
When everything was arranged, Biden finally decided last Friday (February 17): it was time to go to Ukraine.
There were only 2 journalists traveling to Ukraine with Biden this time (I was notified a few hours before leaving), while Biden's usual team of reporters is 13.
Before arriving in Kiev, the two journalists were not allowed to use their mobile phones, disclose any information to their colleagues, and could not cover the trip. They are expected to keep this itinerary absolutely confidential.
After Biden arrived in Kiev, the White House announced that Biden had arrived in Ukraine.
Air Force One
In order to travel low-key, during this visit to Ukraine, Biden did not take the gorgeous and eye-catching US presidential plane "Air Force One", but chose to fly on the Air Force C-32 aircraft.
The upper deck of Air Force One has a cockpit, crew rest area and communications center. The lower floor of the machine is the presidential suite, followed by the presidential office, the medical area, the presidential security area, the kitchen, the senior officials area, the conference room, the staff area, the guest area, and the press area.
By contrast, the C-32 is much smaller, and its main passengers are usually the vice president, first lady, cabinet members and members of Congress, which is why it is often referred to as "Air Force Two." The C-32 is also sometimes used for short trips by the President of the United States, but mainly to smaller airports with shorter runways.
Rush
After everything was ready, at three o'clock in the morning local time on February 19, it was still dark, and Biden's motorcade slipped out of the White House. At 4:15 a.m. at Andrew Air Force Base in Maryland, Biden boarded a C-32,
The plane flew to the United States at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, filled up with fuel, and immediately continued to Rzeszow Airport in Poland.
Rzeszow airport has become a gateway for Western officials to Ukraine, and Western military equipment and supplies for Ukraine also enter Ukraine from here.
Train to Ukraine
After leaving Rzeszow Airport, Biden switched to an 8-car heavily secured train and headed overnight to Kiev. 10 hours later, at 8 a.m. on February 20, Biden arrived in Kiev; Just after 1 p.m. that day, Biden took the train back to Poland.
Before arriving in Kiev, the United States informed Russia of Biden's trip, which U.S. officials described as "an effort to defuse the conflict and try to avoid any form of unintentional escalation and prevent the two countries from falling into a direct military conflict."
On this trip to Ukraine, Biden spent more than twenty hours on the road, and only spent five hours in Ukraine.
During Biden's brief stay in Kiev, American reconnaissance aircraft have been closely monitored in Polish airspace. Last summer, the Biden administration announced the establishment of a permanent U.S. military base in Poland.
Upon arrival in Kiev, many of Kiev's main streets and central neighborhoods have been cordoned off. It can be seen that whether it is during the trip or at the destination, Biden's security measures are quite tight.
Biden tweeted with emotion
According to reporters on the spot, Biden announced as soon as he got off the train: "It's good to be back in Kiev." Biden also posted on Twitter lamenting: "Kiev captured my heart. I knew I would come back. ”
Kiev is no stranger to Biden. During the Obama administration, Biden, then vice president, visited Ukraine six times.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, almost all of the European leaders who supported Ukraine have been to Ukraine, and some leaders have visited it more than once.
Many US officials and celebrities have already been to Ukraine, and US First Lady Jill Biden also appeared in Ukraine last May.
Only the President of the United States has not been to the "field study". Last year Biden went to Poland, and he said that he was sorry not to be able to get to Ukraine.
alert
Mark Hamill, the actor of "Star Wars" actor Luke Skywalker
There is also an episode in Biden's visit to Ukraine this time.
At 11:34 on February 20, an air raid siren sounded in Kiev. On that day, Russia did not carry out air strikes on Kiev.
A few seconds later, the Kiev people's mobile phone app sounded another alarm, from Mark Hamill, the actor of the American film "Star Wars" actor Luke Skywalker, urging people to hide and warning: "Don't be careless." Your overconfidence is your weakness."
As Biden's train left the station at 1 p.m., Hamill's voice sounded again, giving a notice that the alarm was lifted: "The air alarm is over, may the Force be with you (Star Wars lines)".
So the question arises, who is the real audience of the Kiev alert?