The fact that US President Joe Biden showed up in kyiv today must have come as an incredible shock to Moscow, says retired Lieutenant General Arne Bård Dalhaug.

– It was a strong reminder to Putin that his hopes of dividing the West are unreliable, Dalhaug tells Dagbladeyou.

For the Ukrainians, the visit must have been very motivating, says Dalhaug.

– This sends a strong signal that the United States will help Ukraine for as long as necessary, he said.

– A stroke of genius

Just before Biden arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Monday, Russia was briefed on the visit.

– We did it a few hours before the president’s departure to calm the conflict. This is a sensitive communication, so I cannot explain how they responded or what exactly our message to Russia was. But I can confirm the communication, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told The Guardian.

Dalhaug believes Russia was tipped off “because it would have been a total crisis if they had come to harm Biden in a missile attack.”

He believes Biden’s visit to Ukraine is long overdue and the timing of the visit is hardly accidental.

– It was a stroke of genius by Joe Biden to travel to Ukraine just before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of the country, he says.

– It is difficult to send a better signal than that, he adds.

– Acceptable risk

According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, there was a lot of logistics and security work within the administration to be able to carry out the visit with an acceptable risk.

It’s not yet clear how Biden got to Kyiv from Ukraine – but the usual way is to enter the country by train, Dalhaug told Dagbladet.

– Most of the heads of state who visited the country took the train, and arrived near Lviv from the Ukrainian side. From there, it’s not that far from Kyiv, he says, and adds that Biden likely had his own security personnel with him on the trip.

This is Ukraine’s dream

Planned for several months

Journalists who were on the trip were also notified shortly in advance, writes NTB. After returning their cell phones, they learned that Biden was on the presidential plane just fifteen minutes before departure.

The journey with Air Force One began Sunday morning at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

Sullivan’s second-in-command, Jonathan Finer, lifts the veil a little and says the planning has been going on for several months. But it was only after a meeting with some of the president’s most important advisers on Friday that the green light was given to make the visit to Kyiv.

small group

Finer did not confirm how Biden traveled to the Ukrainian capital, but more details on that will be shared when he is safe.

– There was an extremely small group that was traveling, a handful of his closest advisers, a small medical team, a photographer and security personnel, Finer says, according to NTB.

The Americans also worked closely with Ukrainian officials, who gradually gained good experience in hosting important guests from abroad.

At 8:30 p.m. Monday evening, Reuters reports that Biden has arrived in Poland.