President Biden’s surprise Europe stop was revealed only when the President stepped foot in Europe. The President's location? The town of Rzeszów, Poland, about an hour’s drive from the Ukraine border, where he’ll be briefed on the humanitarian response and meet U.S. troops bolstering NATO's presence in the region.
On Thursday, Biden said NATO had, "Never been more united than it is today," following his meeting with leading members of the alliance.
Biden participated in a meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels a month after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
While Biden has placed a series of sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's economy and provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, he has stopped short of employing a no-fly zone repeatedly requested by Ukraine's President Zelenskyy or supplying the beleaguered nation with fighter jets despite promises to do just that.
Still, the Western media has portrayed the American administration as leading the deterrence effort against Putin while attempting to mediate between the warring sides.
The President is likely spend a majority of his trip trying to shore up support with NATO allies for additional retaliatory steps against Moscow, even as countries such as Lithuania and Finland prepare for possible strikes.
Despite sanctions from the West and efforts to arm the Ukrainian army, Russian troops continue shelling civilian areas, as millions of refugees make their way to Europe and other countries worldwide.
After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated pleas for NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country, warning its member states would be attacked by Russia, Biden appeared in no hurry to risk all-out war with Russia reacting coolly to Zelenskyy’s proposal.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that U.S. participation in such a move would be tantamount to a direct conflict with Moscow.
"A no-fly zone would require implementation," she said, adding it would require "deploying the US military to enforce, which would potentially [result in] a direct conflict, and...war with Russia, which is something we are not planning to be a part of."