On a trip clearly timed to counter a major speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin before the anniversary of the invasion, Biden met Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of the most vocal proponents of stronger Western support for Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday said NATO was stronger than ever during a visit to Poland ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"NATO is stronger than it's ever been," Biden told his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda, a day after making a surprise trip to Kyiv.
Poland has NATO's longest border with Ukraine and has been the main route in for weapons and out for refugees. Duda's foreign policy adviser, Marcin Przydacz, said the two presidents would discuss Poland's security, and scaling up NATO resources there.
"It is no secret that we will talk about increasing the presence, also in terms of infrastructure, of NATO," Przydacz told private broadcaster TVN 24.
The visit was welcomed by ordinary Poles and by the 2.5 million Ukrainians, mostly women and children refugees from the conflict, now living in the country. Many called for bolder Western support for Kyiv, including the supply of fighter jets, which Biden has so far held back from offering.
"We hope that they (the U.S.) will increase shipments of arms, that things at the front will improve and that we will win," said Alina Kiiko, 32, a Ukrainian in central Warsaw.
On the Roman Dmowski roundabout in the center of Warsaw, a giant advertising screen ran the slogan: "Biden, give F-16 to Ukraine" in English, referring to U.S. fighter jets.
Demonstrators displayed a banner with the same slogan outside the hotel where Biden stayed overnight as he left for his meeting with Duda in the Polish presidential palace.
Warsaw resident Marian Switala, 70, said he hoped "that this conflict will somehow be resolved and there will be peace in Ukraine and the surrounding area."
Before returning to Washington on Wednesday, Biden will meet leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the countries on NATO's eastern flank, to reaffirm support for their security. All joined the Western military alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War, and most are now among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine.
