President Joe Biden left the White House for his home in Delaware on Friday afternoon, despite an escalating Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The president plans to spend the weekend at home, even though some criticized him for the optics of not caring about the ongoing conflict or the current state of the country by leaving Washington, DC.
Biden spent last weekend at home, when it was unclear whether Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, could survive the onslaught launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the week.
The president does not like spending weekends at the White House, describing the building as “the tomb,” according to reports.
Earlier Friday, Biden met with Finnish president Sauli Niinisto to discuss Ukraine and the importance of the NATO alliance.
“We’re committed to helping Ukraine defend itself and support of the humanitarian need of the Ukrainian people,” Biden told reporters as he met in the Oval Office with Niinisto.
He did not take any questions from reporters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky angrily criticized NATO on Friday for refusing to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine, citing the damage taken by major Ukrainian cities from Russian bombing.
The Untied States and NATO have little interest in trying to enforce a no-fly zone by challenging Russian planes, which would likely trigger a full-scale war.
“All the people who will die starting from this day will also die because of you. Because of your weakness, because of your disunity,” a Zelensky said in a video address.
Instead, Biden and the White House have requested of Congress $10 billion in additional funding to support Ukraine.