Kyiv Air Raid Sirens Should Not Be Theatrical Props- Dangerous For A U.S. Presidential Visit. Overuse Numbs Their Impact In Ukraine And Fosters Doubt Outside Of Ukraine.
Air Raid Sirens Should Not Be Theatrical Props- Overuse Numbs Their Impact
Today, 20 February 2023, Joseph Biden, 46th President of the United States (2021- ), visited Kyiv. He is the fifteenth head of state to visit Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
He endured an approximately ten-hour journey by train from Poland to Kyiv, the capital, in the same VIP Ukrainian Railways carriage provided to …Piers Morgan, the United Kingdom-based television personality. Also used by heads of state and heads of government.
Impacting the visit- Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019- ), and his theatrically-obsessed team according to senior-level officials within the armed forces of Ukraine were enthusiastic about using an air raid siren during the visit by President Biden regardless of its necessity. An opportunity to again engage in “performance art” with air raid sirens seemingly to correspond with the arrival of a head of state, head of government, or important delegation. The White House seemed not discouraging.
According to an official of the government of Ukraine, the reason for the air raid siren was a MiG aircraft departing from a military installation in Belarus. Unknown whether the MiG aircraft was operated and controlled by the armed forces of Belarus or the armed forces of the Russian Federation; and from which military installation in Belarus the aircraft departed and in what direction the MiG aircraft was heading. According to The New York Times, a missile from a MiG aircraft can arrive to Kyiv in approximately twenty minutes. Actually, the duration can be ten minutes depending upon the type of missile.
If there was a legitimate reason(s) for the use of air raid sirens during the visit by President Biden to Kyiv, then why was not the delegation immediately sequestered in the nearest bunker- underground metro station, parking garage, etc.? No images of President Biden wearing a flak jacket, helmet? Why would not the United States Secret Service (USSS) responsible for protecting the President of the United States hustle code name “Celtic” to a secure location? Nope. He was wearing a suit into an active war zone.
Jacob Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs at The White House, confirmed the government of the Russian Federation was informed of the pending visit by President Biden to Ukraine: “We did notify the Russians that President Biden will be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes, and because of the sensitive nature of those communications I won’t get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was, but I can confirm that we provided that notice.”
Ukraine airspace has been used since 24 February 2022. In December 2022, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye (2014- ) secured agreement from President Putin and President Zelensky for the two A400M aircraft operated by the armed forces of Turkiye that had remained since 24 February 2022 at Kyiv-Boryspil International Airport (KBP) to return to Turkiye. The aircraft were delivering humanitarian supplies and then to repatriate Turkish nationals. With the invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation commencing that that day and the closure of Ukraine airspace, the two military transport aircraft remained at KBP. The crew members were housed at the Embassy of Turkiye in Kyiv.
Reasonably concluding The White House would not have proceeded with a visit to Ukraine absent assurances, however defined or believed, from the government of the Russian Federation that there would be no effort to disrupt the visit, the use of air raid sirens by the Zelensky Administration may now be in question.
For President Biden, the air raid sirens were like catnip. He has a history of embellishing happenings during his travels. That he visited Kyiv while air raid sirens were active will no doubt become a permanent chapter of his oft-repeated adventures. Probably already in place on the teleprompter. Wearing a suit and his tough-guy aviator sunglasses, he will return from Ukraine strutting and shuffling as an old wannabe tough-guy does….
Something like: “Come on man, gimme a break. We’ve gotta help these guys… I’m not kidding. Putin tried to kill me. Had to duck. Almost got whacked by a MiG!”
For the Zelensky Administration, which has a significant percentage of decision makers with previous experience in the field of entertainment, the air raid sirens provide a too-good-to-miss messaging opportunity to President Biden, The White House communications team, members of his traveling party, and particularly the media pool covering the visit of President Biden who will dutifully report the theme music “wailing in the background”- and then those words will live onward in by every media outlet. Michael Deaver and Joseph Canzeri, the legendary image meisters for Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, would applaud the endeavor.
However, the challenge for the Zelensky Administration is hence forth fulfilling the requests of high-profile visitors who too want their moment of sound effects peril.
If Kyiv is too safe to visit, how many high-profile individuals will want to visit? Perhaps, the Zelensky Administration will develop off-the-record categories for the duration of air raid sirens corresponding with the stature of the visitor. Given the amorous connectivity of the Zelensky Administration with celebrities, they may well out rank heads of state, heads of government, and important delegations.
And, what is the message with President Biden wearing a suit and tie in a war zone? He is projecting business-as-usual, be calm, showing respect for President Zelensky by not dressing in a manner to reflect fear- or being a copycat in terms of attire.
There is a downside for the government of Ukraine from the visit by President Biden to Kyiv. If now the landscape in Kyiv is safe enough for the “leader of the free world,” the most protected head of state to remain for approximately ten hours on a fixed land-based trajectory easily tracked, the representative of the country which has delivered the largest quantities of commercial, economic, humanitarian, and military resources to the government of Ukraine, and who Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, holds most responsible for forestalling his intentions toward the territory of Ukraine, then a conclusion:
An anticipated territorial outcome, though not necessarily the desired territorial outcome, has been modeled by the Biden-Harris Administration, and possibly the thirty members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the twenty-seven members of the European Union (EU). President Biden’s visit may not be viewed solely as a confidence builder, but rather a sobriety builder. Important to note that not all members of NATO and not all members of the EU support and adhere to decisions taken by NATO and the EU with respect to the government of Ukraine and some members of NATO and the EU believe that support to the government of Ukraine should be increased.