Biden’s secret trip to Ukraine was made via train from the border of Poland, the New York Times reports.
The visit to Kyiv remained a secret because of security concerns. Reports also say that that Biden departed Washington without notice after he and his wife Jill had a rare dinner out at a restaurant on Saturday night.
Officials had denied that Biden would visit Ukraine during his scheduled to trip to eastern Europe.
The New York Times says: “Indeed, the White House on Sunday night issued a public schedule for Monday showing the president still in Washington and leaving in the evening for Warsaw, when in fact he was already half a world away.”
We’re still getting more detail about Joe Biden’s surprise arrival in Ukraine on what will be seen as a symbolic visit ahead of the 12-month anniversary of the Russian invasion.
You can watch the moment the pair left St Michael’s Cathedral in central Kyiv at a time when air raid sirens sounded across the capital.
In a statement, US President Biden said his visit to Kyiv would “reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”.
“When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong,” he said.
It goes on to say that Biden and Zelensky would hold an “extended discussion” on US support for Ukraine and that he will announce more “critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radars” to help the Ukrainian defence.
There will also be more sanctions on Russia, the statement added. It said the “unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support” by a “coalition of nations” to help defend Ukraine “will endure”.