Russia-Ukraine war | Biden leaves Kyiv; Japan to provide $5.5 billion in aid to Kyiv

A White House pool report said that Biden left Kyiv after making a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital on Monday and promising increased arms deliveries. 

"President Biden has left Kyiv," the report said, wrapping up Biden's lightning visit to Kyiv ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of the pro-Western country.

The United States gave a heads up to Moscow "hours" ahead of President Joe Biden's "risky" surprise trip to Kyiv on Monday to avoid any chance of conflict, a senior White House aide said.

"We did notify the Russians that President Biden will be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who accompanied the president on the trip, told reporters. 

Ukraine honoured Biden's visit with a plaque on the 'Alley of Bravery'. 

Zelensky previously said that the 'Alley of Bravery' is a collection of plaques with names of politicians and public figures who came to support Ukraine during the most difficult days. 

From Joe Biden to Emmanuel Macron - a look at significant war-time visitors.

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Kremlin critic, jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny in a statement released ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's offensive in Ukraine said that Moscow's military defeat in Ukraine is 'inevitable'.

"The lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers have been senselessly ruined," said Navalny.

As per him, "the final military defeat can be delayed at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands additional reservists, but on the whole it is inevitable."

Amidst blaring air raid sirens and fears of a Russian offensive, US President Joe Biden reached Ukraine's Kyiv in an unannounced visit.

European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell on Monday said that the EU needs to ensure that Ukraine has enough ammunition to continue its fight against the Russian invasion.

"It is the most urgent issue. If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger," he said before a meeting with foreign affairs ministers from the EU countries.

The meeting in Brussels will discuss a plan to jointly procure arms and ammunition for Kyiv.

"The Russian artillery shoots about 50,000 shots a day, and Ukraine needs to be at the same level of capacity. They have cannons but they lack ammunition," said Borrell.

Japan has announced fresh financial support worth $5.5 billion for Ukraine. 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement on Monday, just days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of its neighbour Ukraine.

"There is still a need to assist people whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the war, and to restore destroyed infrastructure," he said in a speech at a think tank symposium in Tokyo.

Kishida said that the government would seek parliament's approval for "the amendment of relevant laws and rules" to allow the funds to be delivered.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday said that he would host an online meeting between Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

The meeting is slated to be held on Friday — a year to the day since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

"So the G7 leaders can remain united to deal with the invasion of Ukraine, I have decided to host a video conference of the G7 leaders, inviting President Zelensky, this week on the 24th," said Kishida in a speech in Tokyo.

US President Joe Biden, as per reports, remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin's plan to "wipe Ukraine off the map" is failing. He added that tens of thousands of Russians have fled the country because they see "no future" in it.

"One year later, Kyiv stands and Ukraine stands, democracy stands. The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you," he declared.

Volodymyr Zelensky as per Sky News said that the negotiations with the US president Joe Biden have been "fruitful" and were "very crucial". 

"We hope this year 2023 will become a year of victory," he added, praising the "common vision," shared by the two nations. 

"Russia's economy is now a backwater, isolated and struggling," said Biden while addressing the press during his Kyiv visit.

The President announced that the US will impose additional sanctions on companies that are trying to "backfill Russia's war machine".

As per a Reuters report, US President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky also paid tribute to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers who have lost their lives defending the country from aggression at the hands of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

The two leaders walked over and together laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance. A military salute was played as the two presidents observed a few minutes of silence for the fallen heroes.

Russia has 'no chance' to win, says Volodymyr Zelensky during US President Biden's visit. This, as per AFP, was said after Joe Biden promised additional arms supplies to Kyiv.

Referring to the surprise visit, Zelensky said, "this is an unequivocal signal that Russian attempts to win will have no chance."

"Together we will protect our cities, our people from the terror of Russia," he added.

"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," said the US President on Twitter.

Welcoming US President Joe Biden to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday hailed the surprise visit as a key sign of support.

"Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians," he said on Telegram.

As per AFP, during his surprise visit to Kyiv, Biden announced more arms supplies for Ukraine. He also vowed 'unflagging commitment' to defending the war-torn nation's territorial integrity.

"I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armour systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments," said Biden as per a White House statement.

US President Joe Biden on Monday (February 20) made an unannounced visit to war-torn Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The visit comes just days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour. As per AFP, air raid sirens were heard during the visit.

Earlier, the US White House while announcing Biden's itinerary for his visit to Kyiv's neighbour, Poland, said that the US President has no plans to cross into Ukraine.

United States President Joe Biden will be visiting Poland from 20 to 22 February. 

His itinerary for the three-day visit includes meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European allies and speaking about Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Sunday said that during the US president's visit, they would also discuss the possibility of increasing US troop presence in Poland. 

As per Reuters, last June, Biden had said that in response to Russia's threats, the US would set up a new permanent army headquarters in Poland. Morawiecki said that he and Biden would also discuss making US troop presence more permanent. 

European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has a call for the bloc's member to get together buy arms to back Ukraine. However, he warned that this would not solve Kyiv's urgent need for ammunition. He said that Ukraine's supporters must quickly send supplies from existing stocks.

As per Reuters, EU officials and diplomats recently said that they were exploring the possibility of joint procurement of 155 millimetre artillery shells to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss this plan in Brussels on Monday.