After a week of freezing temperatures, Kyiv woke yesterday morning to a perfect blue sky. Spring had arrived. And so had someone else. The centre of the Ukrainian capital, with its cobbled streets and ethereal gold-domed churches, was mysteriously closed off.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion a year ago, numerous foreign leaders have come to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But yesterday's security measures were unprecedented.
As videos circulated of a vast motorcade speeding through the centre of the city, the rumours reached fever pitch. Could they be true? Sometime after breakfast it turned out they were - Joe Biden was in town, dropping by for an extraordinary visit.
It was not immediately clear how the US president had reached Kyiv, arriving at 8am local time. It is a city without a functioning airport. A seasoned traveller on Amtrak, he appears to have got there by train.
A decision to go to Ukraine was made only on Friday, after a huddle of top officials in the Oval Office, the White House said. The visit was meticulously planned. The Biden administration informed Moscow about the trip a few hours after the president took off early on Sunday from Andrews air force base in Maryland. The Russians were briefed for "deconfliction reasons", officials in Washington said.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 21, 2023 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 21, 2023 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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