historic, timely, brave. that s how ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy describes the surprise visit from president biden this morning. [ sirens ]. with air raid sirens blaring, on presidents day no less. a major morale boost days before the country marks a year since russia s invasion. president biden announcing another major military aid package, making it clear that despite domestic pressure to down size assistance, the u.s. support for ukraine is unwavering. freedom is priceless. it s worth fighting for for as long as it takes, and that s how long we re going to be with you, mr. president, for as long as it takes. as the president now embarks on another leg of the trip, we re learning crucial new details about how this historic moment came together. more on that ahead, and how the kremlin is responding with the trip coming just days after the u.s. formally accused russia of creigh committing crimes of against humanity. prayers for former president jimmy carter
military equipment and weapons. he also said the u.s. will be steadfast in its support for ukraine. i thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever about u.s. support for ukraine in your war against the brutal attack from russia. for all the disagreement we have in congress on some issues, there is significant agreement on support for ukraine. this is so much larger than just ukraine. the two leaders also walked out on the streets of kyiv paying respects to the thousands of ukrainian soldiers killed in the conflict. vice president harris said russia has committed crimes against humanity in ukraine. russia s ambassador to the u.s. responded by accusing the u.s. of trying to demonize russia. it comes as the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. warned china it would be crossing a red line if it were to provide lethal aid to russia for use in ukraine. four u.s. officials familiar with the matter tell nbc news the u.s. believes china may already be providing non-
of trying to demonize russia. it comes as the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. warned china it would be crossing a red line if it were to provide lethal aid to russia for use in ukraine. four u.s. officials familiar with the matter tell nbc news the u.s. believes china may already be providing non-lethal assistance to russia. with us now to talk more about this, nbc news correspondent josh lederman in warsaw, and nbc s erin mclaughlin in kyiv. let me begin with you. how much more do we know about how the president was able to pull off this surprise and historic visit? the white house is keeping some of the details secret until the president is safely out of poland. we are learning that this visit which is shrouded in secrecy p began when the president washington under the cover of
seemed energized by the visit. can you explain the weight of this trip considering the amount of risk and the high stakes? i think that s exactly right. as josh mentioned, other presidents and vice presidents have gone into war zones. we had people on the ground, we control the airspace. there s no american troop presence in ukraine. we don t control the airspace. the ukrainians don t control the airspace. you can t have a president even fly in there. what american officials have been doing when they visit kyiv is fly to poland, and take the train across the country, a long arduous trip, about ten hours each direction. this for president biden would be coming after a transatlantic flight. for any 80-year-old person much less one with the burdens of office he has on him, it would be an arduous journey. he did look energized, happy to be there. he looked like he was sending a message to vladimir putin abroad
we re learning crucial new details about how this historic moment came together. more on that ahead, and how the kremlin is responding with the trip coming just days after the u.s. formally accused russia of creigh committing crimes of against humanity. prayers for former president jimmy carter, the oldest living president is in home hospice care. we re live in the hometown of plains, georgia, as the community rallies around him. back to campus under a very dark cloud. michigan state university students return to class today, one week after a mass shooting there left three students dead and five others injured. what we re hearing from students there this morning. we are going to begin overseas with this historic high-stakes visit to kyiv by president biden. starting us off, nbc news foreign correspondent erin mclaughlin in kyiv, josh lederman in warsaw, poland,