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WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Poland this month to rally allies a year after Russia attacked Ukraine, with the White House declaring that he aims to maintain a coalition that supports the defense of Kiev.
The visit, scheduled for Feb. 20-22, was a sign that Ukrainian support for maintaining military and economic aid worth tens of billions of dollars in the protracted war is waning.
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Meanwhile, Russia is believed to be planning another offensive on the anniversary and has stepped up long-range strikes against Ukraine’s military and civilian infrastructure in recent weeks.
It was unclear whether Biden would try to visit Ukraine, as many other Western leaders and members of Congress have done.
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White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said the administration would “continue to stand with the Ukrainian people in times of need.”
Biden visited Poland just weeks after the war began on Feb. 24, when he delivered a powerful argument in favor of Ukraine’s defense in front of Warsaw’s iconic Royal Castle.
At the time, Biden said of Putin: “For God’s sake, this man can’t stay in power,” though the White House later dropped what initially appeared to be a call for regime change in Moscow.
First lady Jill Biden briefly crossed the border on a trip in May and met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at the latter’s first public event since the war began.
Both Biden and White House officials have highlighted the unique security challenges posed by a possible visit by a U.S. president to a country invaded by a nuclear-armed Russia.
Biden hosted President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in December, and the Ukrainian leader also urged more arms and support from the West in a speech to Congress. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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