On May 2, local time, the US White House released news that First Lady Jill Biden will go to Romania and Slovakia around Mother's Day this week (May 8) to meet Ukrainian refugee families and US overseas troops, embassy personnel, etc. In view of the two previous high-profile visits of the United States, the White House was asked by an American reporter on the same day: Is it only a matter of time before President Biden's visit to Ukraine?
Screenshot of the message on the White House website
According to a press release released on the White House website, Jill Biden plans to depart for Romania on the evening of May 5, local time in the United States, and visit Mikhail Cogarniso Air Base the next day to meet with the U.S. military stationed in the united states. That night, she will rush to Bucharest, the capital of Romania.
On May 7, Gil Biden will meet with members of the Romanian government, U.S. Embassy staff, humanitarian aid workers, and educators who are working to provide education to Ukrainian refugee children and provide them with a stable and safe school environment. She will then travel to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, to meet with U.S. Embassy staff.
On May 8, Mother's Day in the United States, Gil Biden will travel to the Kosice and Vysne Nemecke regions on Slovakia's eastern border to meet refugees, humanitarian aid workers and local residents who provide asylum and assistance to Ukrainian refugees.
May 9 is the last day of Gill Biden's visit, and she will depart for the United States after meeting members of the Slovak government.
CNN notes that this will be Jill Biden's second solo trip abroad as first lady. Last July, she traveled to Japan for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
On July 23 last year, Jill Biden arrived in Tokyo. Image source: Newsweek
So far, two groups of senior US officials have visited Ukraine in a high profile, and their ranks have been escalating: on the 24th of last month, US Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin arrived in Kiev to hold talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy and other senior officials. On the 1st of this month, PELOSI, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, led a delegation to conduct a "lightning visit" and said that she had given feedback to President Biden on the new needs put forward by Ukraine.
Although Jill Biden did not visit Ukraine directly, is it a new signal? At the White House press conference on the 2nd, a reporter asked: Can we expect that President Biden's visit is only a matter of time?
In response, White House spokesman Psaki's answer was very conservative, saying only that "there are no plans at present", but the US side "will continue to evaluate" its possibilities.
"As you know, our goal is to reopen the (U.S. embassy in Ukraine) and get our diplomats back there, not just to travel back and forth, but to be able to stay in the country." "I know the president would love to visit Ukraine, but there are no plans at the moment," Psaki said. ”
However, Psaki revealed that she "expects" that before the victory day of the Great Patriotic War in Russia on May 9, the US side will release more about support for Ukraine and European countries.
Psaki also noted that she believes that the first lady's trip to Ukraine's neighboring countries focuses on emphasizing U.S. support for the work done by these countries for refugees and supporting the Ukrainian people, and that the fact that Mother's Day is deliberately included is also to "truly demonstrate this support" should not be overlooked.
"The president thanked her for her willingness to do so, and for the important role she played on behalf of the United States during her visits to Europe and in these meetings." Psaki said.
According to data released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 5.56 million people in Ukraine had fled Ukraine as of May 1. Among Ukraine's neighbors, Romania hosts only Poland in the number of Ukrainian refugees, with a total of more than 820,000, and Slovakia has the sixth largest number of refugees, with nearly 380,000.
Ukrainian refugees fleeing. Image source: UNHCR
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