In a post on his social media channels, Zelenskiy welcomed Biden to Kyiv posting a photograph of the two men standing in front of Ukrainian and US flags. Wearing a striped blue and yellow tie – the colours of Ukraine – Biden was filmed walking with Zelenskiy in Mikhailovsky Square and past the Mariinskyi Palace, the Ukrainian president’s official residence. Biden, however, was reportedly insisted that he should visit Kyiv, which became a symbol of resistance in the early weeks of the war. Biden is the first US president to visit Ukraine since George W Bush in April 2008. As vice-president under Barack Obama, Biden would regularly visit Ukraine, striking up a close relationship with the former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko.

Source: The Guardian February 20, 2023 21:46 UTC