The White House published the chronology of the secret visit of the U.S. President Joe Biden to Kyiv, which took place on February 20, 2023.
On Sunday at 04:15 North American time (11:15 Kyiv time), Biden left Washington on Air Force One for Germany. The plane refueled there, after which it took off again at 18:29 CET (19:29 Kyiv time).
At 19:57 (20:57) flight number one successfully landed in the Polish city of Rzeszow-Jasenko. At 9:37 p.m. (10:37 p.m.) the U.S. president left the Przemyśl railway station for a ten-hour train journey to Ukraine.
At 08:00 Eastern European time, which is used by Ukraine, the U.S. president arrived at the Kyiv-Passenger station, where he was met by Ambassador Bridget Brink.
At 08:18, the presidential motorcade moved to the Mariinsky Palace, where Joe Biden was supposed to meet with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
At 1:10 p.m., Joe Biden left Kyiv on the same train he arrived on. The train crossed the border with Poland after 20:00 CET (21:00 Kyiv time).
- According to Bloomberg, Biden decided to visit Ukraine back in December, when Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington. The President of the United States chose to testify his unwavering support for Ukrainians with a personal visit. The decision was kept secret, only a few people knew about it. Only two journalists accompanied the President on the trip. They handed in their phones and received them only in Kyiv.