United States President Joe Biden paid a covert visit to Kyiv, Ukraine’s besieged capital city, on Monday to further extend his country’s solidarity to the country in the face of the ongoing Russian invasion. 

Mr Biden had earlier told his administration officials that Washington would mark the first anniversary of the invasion in a way that reassures its allies of its commitment to supporting Ukraine. 

The trip, an hour-long train ride from Poland to Kyiv, was covert because of security concerns, with Mr Biden secretly leaving Washington after he and his wife had dinner at a restaurant on Saturday night. 

Mr Biden was billed to make an official trip to Poland on Tuesday, and U.S. officials have repeatedly denied any plans regarding a trip to Ukraine while he was there. 

The White House published a public schedule for Monday on Sunday evening that misrepresented the president’s actual whereabouts as being in Washington, leaving in the evening for Warsaw.