Biden visits Zelensky in Kyiv and says Putin 'dead wrong' on Ukraine war

The US volition backmost Ukraine successful its combat against Russia for "as agelong arsenic it takes" President Joe Biden said arsenic helium made an unannounced and symbolic sojourn to the capital, Kyiv.

"We person each assurance you're going to proceed to prevail," helium said.

Mr Biden's archetypal travel to Ukraine arsenic president came days earlier the archetypal day of Russia's invasion.

He said President Putin had been "dead wrong" to deliberation Russia could outlast Ukraine and its Western allies.

He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the brace visited a memorial to soldiers who person died successful the 9 years since Russia annexed Crimea and its proxy forces captured parts of the eastbound Donbas region.

Mr Biden's beingness was intended to reaffirm America's "unwavering committedness to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity", according to a White House statement.

The New York Times reported that helium took a 10-hour bid travel from Poland to scope Kyiv.

He near Ukraine connected Monday to question to Poland.

After the visit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a caller bundle of information assistance for Ukraine valued astatine $450m (£373m), including ammunition for howitzers and the Himars rocket system, Javelin missiles, and aerial surveillance radars.

The US volition besides supply Kyiv with an other $10m (£8.3m) successful exigency assistance "to support Ukraine's vigor infrastructure up and running", Mr Blinken said.

A caller question of sanctions against individuals and companies "that are trying to evade oregon backfill Russia's warfare machine" volition besides beryllium announced aboriginal this week.

Mr Zelensky said: "The results of this sojourn volition surely beryllium seen and volition surely beryllium reflected connected the battlefield successful liberating our territories."

In his nightly code connected Monday, Mr Zelensky said it was a "symbolic day" that showed "how important Ukraine is to the world".

He besides said that the 2 leaders had discussed the anticipation of sending different weapons that truthful acold had not been supplied.

National information advisor Jake Sullivan - who was among President Biden's entourage - said the US notified Russia astir the travel a fewer hours earlier President Biden's departure for "deconfliction purposes".

He refused to remark connected however Moscow had responded to the news.

White House officials said readying for the travel had been happening for "months", and that a last determination to question was made connected Friday.

In a country that added play to the astir high-profile sojourn to Ukraine since the warfare began, aerial raid sirens wailed portion President Biden and Mr Zelensky were successful St Michael's Cathedral successful cardinal Kyiv. The sirens dependable regularly successful Kyiv.

While different satellite leaders person visited Ukraine implicit the past year, the US president's quality successful the superior during a warfare successful which American soldiers aren't warring is simply a amusement of unity astatine a clip erstwhile Russia says Western enactment for Ukraine is waning.

The sojourn was welcomed by Ukrainians successful Kyiv.

"I'm truthful grateful for his enactment - it means truthful overmuch to us," Roksoliana Gera told the BBC.

"I admit his courage, that helium took connected this situation and came to amusement the enactment of the American nation."

Oleksandra Soloviova said the sojourn was an "important motion for the full world".

"For Russia archetypal of all, it shows the US supports america and volition proceed supporting us, with sanctions and subject equipment," she said.

The Ukrainian president's main of staff, Andriy Yermak, said that the sojourn had been strategical arsenic good arsenic historic. "Many issues are being solved and those that person stalled volition beryllium accelerated," helium said.

The US is 1 of Ukraine's biggest allies and has truthful acold announced $24.9bn (£20.6bn) successful subject assistance, according to the US authorities department.

However, determination is simply a increasing governmental disagreement successful the US implicit the magnitude of assistance Kyiv should person successful future.

President Biden's sojourn to Kyiv comes up of a three-day sojourn to Poland.

There helium volition conscionable with the country's President, Andrzej Duda, and with Eastern European members of the Nato subject alliance.