1 UKRAINE
Biden visits Zelenskiy on surprise trip to Kyiv
Joe Biden visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Monday, defying threats of Russian missile attacks, to announce a new package of additional US weapons supplies worth $500m, as Ukraine prepares to mark the sombre anniversary of last year’s full-scale Russian invasion.
The US president, closely surrounded by a large security detail, was escorted by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on a walkabout around central Kyiv as air sirens could be heard, confirming rumours of a visit that had been circulating during the morning. 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. The timing – before a planned address by Vladimir Putin – was seen as a deliberate rebuke of the Russian president.
In a statement issued by the White House, Biden, who wore a tie in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag, said he was in Kyiv to reaffirm America’s “unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity”.
The big story Page 10 →
2 ENERGY
Energy costs could push 141m into extreme poverty
The cost of energy for households globally could have increased by between 62.6% and 112.9%, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and could push up to 141 million more people around
