US briefs Russia ahead of Biden visit to Ukraine

The United States has warned the Kremlin against a surprise visit by President Joe Biden to Ukraine to avoid an accidental military conflict.
Russia was briefed hours before Biden left for Kiev on Monday, ahead of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“In order to avoid a conflict, we have informed the Russian side that President Biden will be visiting Kiev,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on a conference call.
“Due to the sensitive nature of these contacts, I will not go into the details of their response or the exact nature of our message, but I can confirm that we sent such a notification,” Sullivan added.
He did not provide further details on how the White House notified the Kremlin and Moscow’s response.
The fight for airspace over Ukraine continues. Ukraine, Russia and their allies have not taken full control of it since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.
Sullivan described Biden’s trip as “confirmation” of the US administration’s commitment to continue supporting Ukraine.
“It wasn’t a holiday,” Sullivan said.