False schedule and secret plane: how Biden was hidden from the whole world on the way to Kyiv

The secret details of the historic unexpected visit of US President Joe Biden to Kyiv on February 20 have become known. U.S. officials notified Moscow in advance of Biden's trip to Ukraine, reports Yahoo.

Photo: IStock

White House officials are describing Joe Biden's surprise visit to Kyiv, a city in a war zone under constant attack, as "unprecedented in modern times", reports with the BBC.

They recall that previous trips by US presidents to Iraq and Afghanistan have been supported by the many US military personnel stationed in those countries. And despite the fact that journalists actively discussed the possibility of Biden's trip to Ukraine, this event came as a complete surprise to everyone.

The next time he appeared - after 20 hours - in the center of Kyiv.

Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine on Feb. 20 marked the first time in modern history that a U.S. leader has visited a war zone outside the auspices of the U.S. military, a feat the White House says comes with some risk, even though Moscow has been warned.

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Over the next five hours, the president made several stops in the city—moving in a white SUV rather than a presidential limousine—without any announcement to the Ukrainian public that he was there. But all this activity attracted enough attention that rumors of his presence leaked out long before he could return to Poland. Aides at the White House were surprised that the trip remained secret for so long.

But Russia knew something that the Ukrainian public did not know. Moscow was notified of Biden's trip.

Since last year, the US president has been eager to join the parade of other Western officials who have visited Kyiv to pledge support while standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.

Biden's planned trip to Warsaw, Poland, and the President's Day celebration provided an obvious opportunity to make a stop in Kyiv. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Feb. 20 that a small group of senior officials in the White House and in the US national security agencies had begun secretly working for months to make this happen. Biden gave final approval only on February 17.

Sullivan said the trip "required a security, operational and logistical effort by US government professionals to make what was inherently a risky undertaking."

After Biden boarded the Air Force plane, the call sign "SAM060" was used for the aircraft for a special air mission instead of the usual "Air Force One". It was parked in the dark with its curtains down and took off from Joint Base Andrews at 4:15 a.m. ET.

After refueling in Germany, where the president was aboard the plane, Biden's plane turned off its transponder for the roughly hour-long flight to Rzeszow, Poland, an airport that has served as a gateway to billions of dollars of Western weapons shipments. From there, he boarded a train for the roughly 10-hour overnight journey to Kyiv.

He arrived in the capital at 8 o'clock in the morning on February 20, was met by Ambassador Bridget Brink and boarded his cortege for a trip to the Mariinsky Palace. Even while Biden was in Ukraine, flights to Rzeszow from Western cities did not stop with military equipment and other cargo.

Meanwhile, in Kyiv, many central streets and central quarters were cordoned off without explanation. People began sharing videos of long motorcades of cars speeding through restricted streets, the first signs that Biden had arrived.

Biden traveled with a much smaller entourage than usual: Sullivan, Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon, and Oval Office Director of Operations Annie Tomasini. They were joined by his Secret Service staff, a military aide with a so-called "nuclear briefcase", a small medical team, and the official White House photographer.

Only two journalists were on board, instead of the usual 13. Their electronic devices were turned off and turned over to the White House during their trip to Ukraine. A small number of journalists from Ukraine were summoned to a hotel in the city center on February 20 in the morning.

The US leader rarely traveled to a conflict zone where the US or its allies did not control the airspace.

The US military is not present in Ukraine, except for a small detachment of marines who guard the embassy in Kyiv. This makes Biden's visit more challenging than previous U.S. leaders' visits to war zones.

“We have notified the Russians that President Biden will be traveling to Kyiv,” Sullivan told reporters. “We did this a few hours before his departure in order to resolve the conflict.” He declined to specify the exact message or to whom it was delivered, but said the warning was made to avoid any miscalculations that could lead to direct conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries.

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While Biden was in Kiev, U.S. spy planes, including an E-3 Sentry airborne radar and an RC-135W Rivet Joint electronically controlled aircraft, observed Kiev from Polish airspace.

The blocking of Kyiv roads, usually loaded with traffic, brought an eerie calm to the center of the capital. It was so quiet that crows could be heard as Biden and Zelensky walked from their motorcade to St. Michael's Cathedral, with a golden dome under a sky as blue as the outer walls of the cathedral itself.

"Let's go in and have a look," Biden said as he donned his signature aviator sunglasses to keep out the glare. The presidents disappeared inside, while heavily armed soldiers stood guard outside.

The cathedral bells rang at 11:30 sharp, and soon after at 11:34, just before the men reappeared, an air raid alert sounded. First, distant sirens wailed over the city, and a few seconds later, mobile phone application alarms were heard from people's pockets.

These alarms are voiced by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, and his voice of Luke Skywalker urges people to take cover, warning: “Don't be careless. Your self-confidence is your weakness."

The two leaders walked at a measured pace, without outward signs of unease, through the vaulted gates of the cathedral to the square in front of the facade, where the rusting parts of wrecked Russian tanks and other armored vehicles stood, like grim reminders of the war.

When the square is not blocked, as was the case during the leaders' visit, people come to look at the cars, many take selfies.

Biden and Zelenskiy followed the guard of honor, carrying two wreaths, to a memorial wall for Ukrainian soldiers who have died since 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula and Russian-backed fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine.

Only then did the first photos of Biden in the capital appear on Ukrainian social networks, and the secret visit became world news.

“He is like an example of a president who is not afraid to show up in Ukraine and support us,” Miroslava Renova, a 23-year-old from Kiev, said after the news of Biden’s visit became public.

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Biden headed to the U.S. embassy for a brief stopover before taking a train from Ukraine back to Poland in a well-furnished wood-paneled carriage with tightly drawn curtains, a dining table and a leather sofa.

The cancellation notice, also voiced by Hamill, sounded at 13:07 p.m. as Biden's train was leaving the station.

“The air raid is over,” Hamill said. “May the force be with you.”

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• US President Joe Biden visited Kyiv surprise visit and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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