Biden aided Ukraine with 500 million dollars, Japan： I followed 5.5 billion dollars! How does Putin respond？

　　BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Chen Caixia)-In the early morning of the 20th local time, US President Biden left Andrews Air Force Base for Ukraine on the presidential plane "Air Force One", and then met with Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kiev.

　　This is Biden’s first visit to Ukraine since the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis nearly a year ago. After the "lightning visit", Biden quickly left Ukraine. Although he only stayed there for less than a day, Biden’s trip undoubtedly revealed a lot of important information … …

　　A secret trip started at night

　　According to CNN, Biden’s public schedule did not reflect this trip. The visit was conducted in secret, and reporters on the accompanying plane were not allowed to carry shooting equipment. According to the report, the difference between this trip and the past is because "Ukraine is an active war zone and the US military can’t control it, which makes the visit on the 20 th different from the previous presidential visit to Iraq or Afghanistan."

　　Before Biden’s visit, many streets in the center of Kiev have been blocked by the police, and the security work of the Ukrainian military can be said to be extremely strict.

　　Biden arrived in Kiev at 8: 00 am local time on the 20th, and was greeted by Bridget Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine. About half an hour later, Biden’s motorcade arrived at Mariinsky Palace to meet with Zelensky and his wife.

　　"Thank you for coming!" Zelensky said, holding Biden’s hand. Biden also asked, "More importantly, how are the children?" He also added, "Nice to meet you."

　　Later, Biden and Zelensky visited a church in Kiev together. At that time, an air defense alarm sounded in Kiev. As the alarm sounded, the two quickly left the scene.

　　According to the report, Biden’s entourage was few, including US National Security Adviser jack sullivan, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jan o’malley Tommy Tam and Oval Office Operations Director Anne tomasini.

　　Biden visited Ukraine six times when he was vice president of the United States. Biden’s last visit to Ukraine before he became president was in January 2017. Before the "Lightning" visit in 2023, Biden was still the highest-ranking official of the US government who visited Ukraine. Because neither former US President Trump nor former Vice President Pence has visited Ukraine.

　　Biden announces important decisions: aid and sanctions

　　After his unexpected appearance in Ukraine, Biden said that the purpose of his visit was to reaffirm the "unswerving" support of the United States to Ukraine, and announced 500 million dollars worth of additional aid and a series of new sanctions against Russia on the same day.

　　According to the statement of the White House on the same day, the United States will provide Ukraine with more weapons and equipment such as "Haima" multi-barrel rocket shells, anti-tank systems and air surveillance radars. The specific details will be officially announced to the outside world on the 21st. In addition, during the meeting, Zelensky and Biden also discussed the supply of long-range weapons and "weapons and equipment that have never been provided to Ukraine before".

　　Biden issued a statement saying, "On the eve of the first anniversary of the Ukrainian crisis, I met with President Zelensky in Kiev today and reiterated our firm commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

　　Zelensky said at the press conference after the talks that Biden’s visit to Kiev will help Ukraine "get closer to victory" in this crisis and can and should ensure that this year, that is, 2023, will be a year of victory.

　　"The United States provides M1‘ Abrams ’ The decision of the tank laid a foundation for the establishment of the tank alliance, which is of historical significance, "Zelensky said. "This is a clear signal that (Russia) has no chance to win."

　　However, according to Agence France-Presse, the accompanying US national security adviser Sullivan said that Biden had sent a reminder to Moscow "a few hours" before his visit to Kiev.

　　"We did inform the Russians that President Biden will go to Kiev. We informed Russia a few hours before the visit to avoid any conflict, "Sullivan said in an interview. "Because of the sensitivity of this information, I can’t deeply understand the reaction of (Russia) or the exact nature of our information."

　　"This surprise visit is only a symbolic gesture."

　　After a hasty meeting with Zelensky, Biden left Kiev.

　　Sputnik news agency & radio reported that Vladimir Baczuk, director of the Center for American Regional Military Policy of the Institute of American and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that Biden’s visit to Kiev was only a symbolic gesture, which meant that the United States would further support Ukraine.

　　Baczuk said, "Biden may not take a tank or a plane with him as a gift. This is purely a symbolic gesture. The United States will always support Ukraine, and this route will not change. "

　　Baczuk also said, "There will be no more Russian-American relations, so it is impossible to have any impact."

　　"I don’t think Russians will be surprised," Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of Russian political analysis company r.politik, told the British newspaper The Guardian. "For them, this will be another evidence that Washington has clearly chosen its camp … … This proves the complete separation between the West and Russia. "

　　On the 21st, Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a State of the Union address, analyzing that Biden’s visit to Kiev at this time may further escalate the situation in Russia and Ukraine. "I expect that Putin may take an extremely tough attitude towards the West in his annual State of the Union address tomorrow," Stanova said.

　　Japan suddenly announced a "big hand"

　　Kyodo News reported on the 20th that Japanese Prime Minister kishida fumio announced at an international forum in Tokyo that he would provide Ukraine with 5.5 billion US dollars (about 737 billion yen) in new aid.

　　However, according to data from the Kiel Institute for World Economics in Germany, from January to November 2022, including the military, financial and humanitarian fields, Japan’s support to Ukraine amounted to 600 million euros, the least among G7 countries. This time, people around Kishida explained the additional support fee: "This is a scale that is not ashamed compared with other countries."

　　According to a report by Japanese TBS TV on the 20th, kishida fumio also said that the leaders of the Group of Seven will hold an online video conference on February 24th, and Zelensky will also participate. (End)