“We are making this decision now,” Biden said when asked if he would send a senior official to Ukraine. Asked who he would send, Biden turned to a reporter again and said, “Are you ready to go?”
After Russian forces withdrew from the region around Kyiv, a number of Western leaders headed to the Ukrainian capital to show support.
U.S. officials have held preliminary discussions on sending a senior member of the administration to Ukraine, according to a source familiar with the talks.
While Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are unlikely to visit Kyiv any time soon, officials discussed sending Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin or Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
However, sources said the decision was far from finalized and the visit may not materialize in the end.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid a surprise visit to Kyiv last weekend. U.S. officials said Biden did not currently plan to travel alone.
“We are not currently planning a trip for the President of the United States to Ukraine,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday. She said that the most important thing was that the presidential visit was a continuous supply of weapons and support.
“The most important thing for the Ukrainian leadership is that we are accelerating weapons and providing them with the necessary assistance and security systems, and that is what we are focusing on,” she said.
In a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, Biden briefed his counterpart on a new $ 800 million security aid package, including 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 300 Switchblade drones, 18 howitzers and protective equipment to prevent chemical attacks.
During a last-minute visit to Poland last month, Biden told aid workers he would like to visit Ukraine to see the situation up close.
“They will not let me, understandably, I guess, cross the border and look at what is happening in Ukraine,” Biden said. The White House said before the trip that they had not investigated any visit to Ukraine.
Speaking Thursday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden “would like the opportunity to go to Ukraine to show solidarity with Ukrainians” and that the possibility was discussed before Biden’s trip to Warsaw last month.
Discussions include what kind of footprint will be needed to ensure the president’s safety, Sullivan said. But this “is not under any serious planning”, he added, declining to comment further on reports that a senior US official may visit Kyiv in the near future.
Caitlan Collins, Natasha Bertrand and Betsy Klein of CNN contributed to this report
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