US President Joe Biden reportedly decided on February 17 to travel to Kyiv, a move that surprised many in the White House and the Pentagon, according to Bloomberg and other sources. The decision remained under wraps as the trip unfolded, with several officials unaware of the plan until the last minute. The unannounced visit occurred on February 20, when Biden arrived in Ukraine by train from Poland around 8 in the morning. He met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, walked through the city center, and reassured Kyiv that Washington would maintain its support for the Ukrainian government and its people in the ongoing crisis.
Bloomberg’s reporting indicates that Biden was accompanied on the flight from Washington by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and two journalists who had agreed to keep details of the visit confidential. The journalists reportedly received an email titled Arrival instructions for the golf tournament a few days before the trip, which raised questions about the level of secrecy surrounding the mission.
Sullivan stated that the United States informed Russia of Biden’s Kyiv visit only a few hours before the departure. This timing was intended to minimize the chance of any miscalculation or unintended escalation while ensuring the trip proceeded with as little warning as possible to external actors.
Sabrina Siddiqui, a journalist who previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, reported that White House officials urged the two journalists traveling with Biden to refrain from disclosing information about the visit until the appropriate moment. The episode underscores the delicate balance the administration sought between public transparency and strategic secrecy in high-stakes international travel.