White House Decision-Making Process About Sending Official(s) To Kyiv Projecting Indecisiveness And Weakness? Fear Of What? 4 Presidents And 5 Prime Ministers Visited Without Incident.
The White House
Washington DC
14 April 2022
Q On the -- to follow up what the President just said about making a decision on sending officials: Who would it -- who -- on the discussions of who you may be sending, is it going to be a Cabinet-level official? Or what are we looking at?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Again, as he also -- I'm just going to repeat what he said – is that we're still -- we're still in discussion, deciding this. As you know, obviously, we're in contact with the Ukrainian government, with Kyiv every -- everyday, pretty regularly. And so, I just don't have anything to preview any further.
Politico
Arlington, Virginia
13 April 2022
U.S. weighs sending top-level official to meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The U.S. official, which will most likely be a Cabinet member, will follow European leaders who have already made the symbolic visit. The Biden administration is holding internal discussions about sending a high-level official to Kyiv to show further support to Ukraine, two U.S. officials told POLITICO. No decision on the potential visit has yet been made as deliberations continue inside the White House. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris remain candidates to represent the U.S. in the Ukrainian capital, though it’s far more likely that a Cabinet member like Secretary of State Antony Blinken or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will go, the officials said. Both Biden and Harris have recently traveled to Poland, a frontline NATO country that borders Ukraine. A U.S. official visiting Kyiv would be the latest in a parade of Western figures meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In recent weeks, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the trip, while the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland met Wednesday with Zelenskyy in the capital. If the administration decides to send someone to Kyiv, it is understood that there won’t be an announcement in advance, due to security reasons. The timing of any potential trip is uncertain and officials cautioned that it may not happen at all due to the fluid nature of the war. The trip would be highly symbolic for both Washington and Kyiv. The U.S. would affirm its commitment to Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, while Ukraine would get to host a top American official in the capital, just weeks after forcing Russian troops to retreat. The visit would also come after Biden authorized an additional $800 million in military assistance, putting the total U.S. aid to Ukraine above $3 billion since the new administration came to power. The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The New York Times
New York, New York
13 April 2022
The U.S. is considering sending a high-level official to Kyiv. The United States is considering whether to send a high-level official to Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in the days ahead as a sign of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, according to a person familiar with the internal discussions. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have both made high-profile visits over the past month to countries neighboring Ukraine as the war raged. And other top American officials have made similar visits, some coming close to the border. But no American official has publicly visited Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in late February. It is highly unlikely that Mr. Biden or Ms. Harris would go to Kyiv, according to the person familiar with the deliberations. The security requirements for the president or vice president in a war zone are enormous and would require a huge number of American personnel and equipment to make the trip. But it is possible that another official — perhaps a cabinet secretary or senior member of the military — could make the trip safely with a smaller security entourage. Top officials — including some world leaders — from other nations have made official visits to the Ukrainian capital since the war began. Boris Johnson, the prime minister of Britain, made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Saturday. The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia visited Kyiv on Wednesday. A possible visit by a senior U.S. official, which was earlier reported by Politico, would be intended as another show of solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. But it would also be a high-risk mission, putting Americans in harm’s way and potentially risking a direct confrontation with Russian forces that Mr. Biden has repeatedly vowed to avoid. No decision has been made, and the administration is unlikely to announce a visit in advance, given concerns about security. Previous visits by senior American officials to other war zones, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, were typically not announced until after the official had arrived in the country — and sometimes not even until after the official had left.
The White House
Washington DC
13 April 2022
Q -- with President Zelenskyy. Did they talk about possibly moving U.S. diplomats back into Ukraine?
MS. PSAKI: I don't have more details of that. I will tell you that our objective is to do exactly that. And we, of course, assess, in a process that's led by the State Department, security considerations, who the right personnel to go back first would be. And that certainly is something the President would like to see. But I'm not aware of him providing an update on that today.
United States Department of State
Washington DC
14 April 2022
QUESTION: Just on this same topic. With fighting now moving east and south and away from the capital – you said you’ve heard of the defeat of the Russians around Kyiv – is the U.S. considering at all returning some diplomats either to Lviv or to the capital?
MR PRICE: This is something that we’re always reviewing, given the fact that the safety and security of our diplomats and American officials serving around the world is a top priority for us. What we know is that we are in a position to engage face to face with our Ukrainian partners on a regular basis. Secretary Blinken, I mentioned before, had an opportunity to see his counterpart last week in Brussels. He had an opportunity to see him just before that in Warsaw with the President. He had an opportunity to see him just before that on Ukrainian soil. So there are no shortage of opportunities to consult with our Ukrainian partners. And then, of course, on top of that the Secretary speaks regularly over the phone to Foreign Minister Kuleba. President Biden spoke to President Zelenskyy over the phone again this morning. So the fact that we don’t currently have a team on the ground in Ukraine isn’t inhibiting our ability to coordinate very closely with our Ukrainian partners, but obviously our goal is to have a functioning diplomatic presence in Ukraine as soon as it is safe and practical for us to do so.
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