Russia-Ukraine war: From Joe Biden to Emmanuel Macron - a look at significant war-time visitors

On February 20, 2023, US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Biden met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital on his first visit to the country since the start of the conflict. 

Zelensky hailed Biden's visit as an "extremely important sign of support" as Biden vowed "unflagging commitment" to Ukraine. 

On March 15, 2022, the prime ministers of the central European countries of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia are the first Western leaders to visit Ukraine. 

Their visit came just three weeks after the Russian invasion. 

They made a risky journey by train from Poland. During their talks Zelensky, Kyiv was under curfew and explosions were heard from fighting on the western outskirts of the capital. 

The United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the first leader of a G7 country to visit the war-torn country on April 9. 

Johnson was filmed on a walkabout in the deserted streets of Kyiv with Zelensky, acclaimed by residents for his show of solidarity. 

Johnson arrived a day after European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who told Zelensky that Ukraine "is marching towards a European future". 

On April 20, European Council president Charles Michel called for justice for the war crimes committed in Ukraine during a visit to the war-scarred Kyiv suburb of Borodianka. 

Both EU leaders visited Ukraine twice. Michel's second trip on May 9 took him to the Black Sea port of Odessa, where he had to break off a meeting and take shelter after missiles struck the city. 

Russian missiles also fell on central Kyiv on the day UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited.

Ten people were injured in the strikes. The UN team escaped harm but a spokesman for Guterres said he was "shocked". 

US President Joe Biden's wife Jill made a surprise appearance on May 8. She met Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska in a school close to Ukraine's border with Slovakia. 

On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kyiv where he said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "responsible for heinous war crimes" and must be held to account. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi showed their support for Ukraine by visiting the country on June 16. 

Macron had been particularly criticised for delaying his trip, which came over two months after Johnson made the visit. 

Johnson was back in Kyiv on June 17 on what was his second visit in just over two months, Zelensky said, hailing Britain's "resolute" support for Ukraine. 

He wrote on Telegram with a video of him greeting the British leader at the presidential palace. "Many days of this war have proved that Great Britain's support for Ukraine is firm and resolute. Glad to see our country's great friend Boris Johnson in Kyiv again," Zelensky said. 

"Mr President, Volodymyr, it is good to be in Kyiv again," wrote Johnson on his official Twitter account. 

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited three war-ravaged towns in Ukraine's Kyiv region, the local governor said on July 3, 2022. Governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram that Albanese visited the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, where Ukraine says Russia committed atrocities against civilians. Russia denies the allegations. 

Kuleba quoted Albanese as saying: "Australia supports Ukraine and wants to see justice meted out for the crimes committed here."