US President Joe Biden met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Saturday in Warsaw, in his first face-to-face meeting with top Ukrainian officials since the start of the war.
Kuleba and Reznikov have made a rare trip out of Ukraine as a possible sign of growing confidence in the fightback against Russian forces.
According to the media outlets, the meeting took place at the Marriott Hotel in the city center, opposite a Warsaw train station where there has been a constant flow of Ukrainian refugees since the conflict started.
The President updated the Ministers on U.S. efforts to rally the world in support of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, including through the President’s meetings this week in Belgium, and the significant military and humanitarian assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.
“They discussed further efforts to help Ukraine defend its territory. They also discussed the United States’ ongoing actions to hold President Putin accountable for Russia’s brutal aggression, in coordination with our allies and partners, including through the new sanctions actions announced by the President in Brussels on March 24,” the White House said.
Biden will argue in a speech in Poland on Saturday that the “free world” opposes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that there is unity among major economies on the need to stop Vladimir Putin, the White House said.
The White House said Biden would “drop by” a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Kuleba and Reznikov in the Polish capital.
Biden last met Kuleba in Washington on February 22, two days before Russia began its assault. Since then, Kuleba has also met with Blinken in Poland next to the border with Ukraine on March 5.
Later on Saturday, Biden is due to meet with Polish leaders and visit a reception center for refugees and give a major speech on the conflict.
The US and many of its allies have imposed multiple rounds of economic and other sanctions on Russian individuals, banks, and other entities in hopes that the cumulative effect over time will force Putin to withdraw his troops.
(With inputs from agencies)
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