Biden arrives in Warsaw where Poland has a message for Americans with doubts: Back Ukraine or risk a new Russian global conflict as China weighs sending support to Moscow
- After surprise visit to Kyiv, Biden will meet Polish leaders in Warsaw on Tuesday
- A Polish official said Biden must keep the U.S. public engaged in Kyiv’s struggle
- ‘This is something that can … turn into a global conflict,’ said Adrian Kubicki
When President Joe Biden meets political leaders in Poland on Tuesday he will be feted as a world leader who has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine and her allies in fending off Russian aggression.
But he will also be given a quiet warning: The United States cannot risk reducing its support for Ukraine and eastern Europe without opening the door to a new world war.
Adrian Kubicki, the Polish consul general in New York, told DailyMail.com that the Ukraine war seemed very far away to Americans worrying about inflation or the possibility of recession.
After a year of conflict, he said, it was inevitable that people would ask why they kept sending money and arms to Ukraine when there was no end in sight.
‘Obviously, this is a concern of how to keep the fires burning and keeping people feeling the need to support Ukraine,’ he said.
‘We know that without the US and NATO support, Ukraine will not be able to continue successfully defending the country and pushing back invaders.’
President Joe Biden arrived in Warsaw, Poland late Monday evening after a full day of travel in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to the nation’s capital on Monday. He is due to meet Polish leaders in Warsaw on Tuesday
Adrian Kubicki (left), the Polish consul general in New York, said it was vital the U.S. continued to support Ukraine, a day ahead of Biden’s meeting with President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw
While the war was an immediate concern to the people of Poland, who fear they could be next in line, he added, Americans should know that they are not insulated from the Russian threat.
‘This is something that can start … to turn into a global conflict that will directly impact American people,’ he said.
Biden arrived in war-torn Kyiv on Monday morning for a surprise visit to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion. His arrival was cloaked in secrecy, and tagged on to a publicly announced trip to Poland.
He unveiled a $500 million package of weapons for Ukraine, and declared Vladimir Putin’s ‘war of conquest to be failing.
But his trip comes at a pivotal moment.
His officials are warning that China is poised to supply ‘lethal assistance’ to Moscow’s war machine.
The war has already cost hundreds of thousands of lives, driven millions from their homes and reduced a string of cities to rubble in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Aid from the U.S., allies and partners is credited with helping dogged Ukrainian resistance defend its territories.
The far right of the Republican Party is now pushing for an end to aid for Ukraine’s resistance
The bodies of 11 Russian soldiers lie on the ground in the village of Vilkhivka, recently retaken by Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv, scene of heavy recent fighting
Ukrainian servicemen walk along a street in Siversk. Both sides are preparing for fresh offensives as spring approaches and Vladimir Putin is to deliver a major speech Tuesday
Biden and Zelenskyy stop to talk at the ‘Walk of the Brave,’ name that plates mark those who have helped in the struggle against the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Biden’s visit was planned with a cloak of secrecy. Details only emerged when he was spotted on an open-air walkabout with Zelensky in Kyiv
The U.S. alone has sent more than $100 billion of arms and aid to the country, of which The Pentagon spent $62.3 billion in the past year on weapons and ammunition as well as training, logistics, and salaries.
Yet there has been little change on the vast frontline in recent months. Now both sides are readying for offensives expected in the spring.
The result is a growing push on the right wing of the Republican Party to choke off the money to Ukraine.
Rep. Matt Gaetz is leading a group of 11 lawmakers in calling for the United States to halt aid to Ukraine through the introduction of the ‘Ukraine Fatigue’ Resolution.
It has little chance of success, but is the latest sign of how a vocal minority wants a change in policy.
Conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene condemned Biden’s visit.
‘This is incredibly insulting,’ she wrote in a tweet. ‘Today on our President’s Day, Joe Biden, the president of the United States chose Ukraine over America, while forcing the American people to pay for Ukraine’s government and war.
‘I cannot express how much Americans hate Joe Biden.’
President Joe Biden is welcomed to Kyiv by President Volodomyr Zelensky during a surprise visit on Monday morning. Biden announced a fresh $500 million in aid for Ukraine
Biden and Zelenskiy visit the Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to killed Ukrainian soldiers, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Air raid sirens blared around the city during the visit
Air Force One was spotted at Rzeszow Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland
Kubicki said Poland had no choice but to stand with Ukraine and said he understood why some Americans might be running out of patience.
‘We’re up next if you want to put it that way,’ he said.
It might not seem like it, but the road from Ukraine to Poland quickly leads to the U.S.
‘I understand that there are different problems that have to be addressed like inflation, local problems with migration and everything else
‘We feel standing with Ukraine is one of those major problems that needs America to be to be involved,’ he said. ‘Also for American people … this is also an issue of direct U.S. security.
Biden is due to meet President Andrzej Duda, on Tuesday and will deliver a speech that makes the case for continued support for Ukraine.
He is also scheduled to meet with North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders from Eastern European countries known as the Bucharest Nine on Wednesday.
At the White House last week, national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden knew any message delivered in Poland would be heard back home.
‘The president well knows that whenever he speaks, he’s speaking to people all around the world as well as, of course, the American people,’ he told reporters.
‘But I think you’ll hear messages in the president’s speech that will certainly resonate with the American people, will certainly resonate with our allies and partners, without question resonate with the Polish people who have done so much and continue to do so.
‘And I would suspect that hear him messaging Mr. Putin as well, as well as the Russian people.’
‘God knows what he’s thinking’: President Biden says Putin is reeling against a united West and announces fresh aid for Ukraine
President Biden spoke for 10 minutes at the Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv on Monday morning. He expressed his continuing commitment to Ukraine’s fight and announced fresh aid. These were the main points:
‘Democracy stands’
‘One year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the Fall of Kyiv … Perhaps even the end of Ukraine
‘One year later Kyiv stands. Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.
‘The Americans stand with you and the world stands with you.’
President Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart delivered remarks on Monday morning
On aid
‘Today, that announcement includes artillery ammunition for HIMARs … more Javelins, anti-armor, air surveillance radar to protect Ukrainian people.
‘Later this week we will announce additional sanctions against elites in companies that are trying to evade sanctions and back the Russian war machine borders.
‘And thanks to a bipartisan support in Congress, this week we’re delivering billions in direct budgetary support, billions in direct support which the government can put to use immediately to help provide basic services to citizens.’
Putin is losing
‘Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map. Putin’s war of conquest is failing. Russia’s military has lost half the territory it once occupied.
‘Young talented Russians are fleeing in the tens of thousands, not wanting to come back to Russia. Not just fleeing from the military, fleeing from Russia itself because they see no future in their country.’
On Putin’s miscalculation
‘When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong.
‘As you know, Mr. President, I said at the beginning, he’s counting on us not sticking together. He was counting on an inability to keep NATO United
He was counting on us not to be able to bring in others on the side of Ukraine.
‘He thought he could outlast us. I don’t think he’s thinking that right now. God knows what he’s thinking.’
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