[Looks like not that many people were particularly interested in what they had to say...
a lot of empty seats there!]
Biden flew to Ukraine under cover of darkness, and his trip was kept secret for 24 hours
President Biden's trip to Kyiv on Monday was shrouded in secrecy, a reflection of the steep security concerns of visiting an active warzone.
Air Force One departed Joint Base Andrews under cover of darkness at 4:15 a.m. ET on Sunday. Reporters aboard the plane were not allowed to carry their devices with them.
Biden's public schedule didn't reflect the trip, and White House officials repeatedly said last week that a visit to Ukraine was not in the works.
On Saturday evening, before he departed, Biden went out to dinner with his wife in Washington. He wasn't seen in public again until arriving in Kyiv on Monday morning.
Ukraine is an active warzone where the US military has no control, making Monday's visit different from previous presidential trips to Iraq or Afghanistan. White House officials had repeatedly ruled out a visit earlier in the year.
Biden is traveling with a relatively small entourage, including national security adviser Jake Sullivan, deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon and personal aide Annie Tomasini.
President Zelensky first invited Biden to visit Kyiv a year ago, as Russian forces were massing on the border. As recently as last week, Zelensky said his invitation for Biden to visit Ukraine remained open, even as he acknowledged there were other means for them to speak.
Biden and Zelensky left a Kyiv church together just before air raid sirens sounded
CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward described what she saw as US President Joe Biden met with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier on Monday.
The pair arrived outside the city’s St. Michael’s Church, Ward told CNN's Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo, entering the building from behind before leaving about five minutes later just before air sirens began to wail.
The two leaders then walked out of the church together, following two soldiers who were carrying wreaths to a wall of the fallen, commemorating those who have lost their lives in combat.
Ward went on to say the two leaders stayed there for a moment to pay their respects before embracing each other, showing the “rapport” the leaders have, she said.
Biden declares Putin's "war of conquest" is failing in remarks from Kyiv
US President Joe Biden declared from Kyiv on Monday that a year after invading Ukraine, "Putin’s war of conquest is failing."
“Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided,” Biden said standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
“He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”
“He’s just been plain wrong,” Biden said of Putin. “One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together.”
Biden's visit to Ukraine, his first since the invasion, was a highly symbolic moment meant to demonstrate lasting American support for the country and its people.
He harkened back to the start of the war, when the world was anxiously watching the buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine's border.
In his speech, Biden recalled how he and Zelensky spoke by phone as “Russian planes were in the air and tanks were going across your border.”
“You told me that you could hear explosions in the background,” Biden said. “I’ll never forget that.”
“The world was about to change," he said, recalling what Zelensky asked him to do on that phone call: “Gather the leaders of the world. Ask them to support Ukraine.”
“You said that you didn’t know when we’d be able to speak again. That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” Biden said. “Perhaps even the end of Ukraine.”
“One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” he declared. “The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.”
Biden said that Kyiv has “captured a part of my heart."
Does anyone know if this is a 'hand signal' Biden is making?