President Joe Biden will fly out for Poland on Monday to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine while renewing his warnings to President Vladimir Putin about the folly of his venture.
Biden intends to be in the same place he was one year ago when he told Putin he cannot “remain in power” if he continued to prosecute war against his smaller neighbor, the Hill reports.
Twelve months later Russia and Ukraine are still fighting and Moscow has shown no inclination to heed the Biden warning and retreat.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden intends to reinforce “a strong message of solidarity” during his trip to Poland as other members of his administration warn the conflict still has a long way to run.
The president is scheduled to arrive in Warsaw early on Tuesday. He will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda before delivering remarks on Tuesday evening Polish time, where he will make clear the U.S. will stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
On Wednesday, Biden will meet with the Bucharest Nine, which consists of members of NATO’s eastern flank: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
Kirby said Biden’s only scheduled travel is to Warsaw, appearing to rule out crossing the border into Ukraine at any point, the Hill report stated.
The president is expected to thank the Polish government and people for their financial and military commitments over the past year, as well as their welcoming of more than one million refugees from Ukraine.
That support from Eastern Europe, led by Poland, is matched by the Biden administration’s commitment of warfighting material and cash.
“Last time he was in Warsaw, he was out there meeting Ukrainian refugees and shaking hands. He’s a kind of self-starred man of the people. I think he’s much more comfortable on the frontlines in Warsaw than he is in the back rooms sipping Cava with the elites at the Munich Security Conference,” Kirby said.
Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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