Biden’s Visit to Kyiv Highlights the Sobering Reality of Ukraine’s Ongoing War

March, 2023 – Last week, President Joe Biden made a covert visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, to mark the one-year anniversary of the country’s ongoing war with Russia. The visit was meant to show defiance against Moscow’s punishing invasion and to express Western solidarity with Ukraine.

However, with the renewed and brutal Russian offensive making incremental progress along the front, the visit has highlighted the growing strain in the trans-Atlantic alliance, with no end in sight to the war. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s pleas for help grow more desperate, the stakes for President Biden to keep the weapon supply flowing have risen.

According to Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, “It may well be that 2023 is the best chance Ukraine has.” Biden can support Ukraine “as long as it takes,” but there is a U.S. election in 2024 and a German election in 2025 that will complicate things.

Biden will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House on Friday to discuss the challenges for the U.S. president to hold Europe together to resist Russia. Two days after Russia’s invasion, Scholz vowed in his “Zeitenwende” speech that Germany would take steps to boost defense spending. However, a budget crunch may prevent Berlin from fulfilling last year’s promise of increased defense spending.

Zelenskyy has called on Germany to do more in supplying weapons to the front, including Leopard II tanks. The U.S. only authorized sending its Abrams tanks to push Germany to send its own vehicles, which can be deployed much sooner.

Part of Biden’s task is managing the emerging divide in Europe over how to end the war. Some voices on the continent are urging peace talks now, to limit the human and economic toll. Others in Europe hold a decidedly different view, suggesting that the only way to prevent an eventual Russian invasion of their own countries is to cripple Moscow for good.

As President Biden continues to support Ukraine, the conflict remains a pressing issue in international relations. The U.S. will need to navigate complex political and military challenges to ensure continued support for Ukraine and to maintain Western solidarity against Russia’s aggression.