(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden did little to tip his hand about his unannounced visit to Kyiv, heading to church on Saturday afternoon and then taking his wife out to dinner at a cozy Washington restaurant.
But by the pre-dawn hours Sunday, he was already aboard a US military plane crossing the Atlantic, the first leg of an itinerary to the Ukrainian capital carried out under cloak-and-dagger secrecy after months of meticulous planning by a close circle of advisers.
The war is at a pivotal stage, with a weariness setting in about the likelihood of a prolonged conflict that could put pressure on Ukraine to enter peace talks. Zelensky needed a shot in the arm and Biden came in person to provide that psychological boost two months after the Ukrainian leader’s own surprise visit to Washington in late December.
No details were provided about how Russia took the news and there has been no formal response to Biden’s presence in Ukraine. This time they attended Mass on the campus of Georgetown University. That was followed by a viewing of the “The First Ladies” exhibit at the National Museum of American History.
Photographer Evan Vucci of the Associated Press and reporter Sabrina Siddiqui of the Wall Street Journal were chosen from the originally-scheduled group of media travelers. The pair was called into the office of White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield on Friday and were sworn to secrecy.
After touching down in Poland, the president embarked on a 700-odd kilometer journey by train and arrived in Kyiv at 8 a.m. local time wearing a blue and yellow striped tie, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
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