Irish Examiner View: All is far from quiet on the eastern front as Biden visits Ukraine

US president Hoe Biden’s visit to Ukraine has been seen as a rebuke to Vladimir Putin ahead of an expected address to the Russian nation.

Tue, 21 Feb, 2023 - 02:00

There was a certain irony in the many awards won by the anti-war movie, All Quiet on the Western Front, at Sunday’s Baftas. Not least of these was the fact that, for the past year, things have been anything but quiet on the eastern front.

Yesterday’s surprise visit by US president Joe Biden to Kyiv, as we approach the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlights the level of unity of western leaders behind president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his people ahead of an expected address to the Russian nation on Tuesday by Vladimir Putin on the progress of his ‘special military operation’.

With Putin’s forces expected to launch yet another offensive in Ukraine within days, Biden’s visit has been seen as a rebuke to the Russian president. If it is seen that way in the Kremlin, whatever internal pressures there may already be on Putin will intensify and undoubtedly worsen the conflict further.

But Biden’s visit, while largely symbolic, was a clear sign that — despite many stories at home and abroad to the contrary — US and international support for Ukraine is not wavering. It also came at a time when China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, was visiting Moscow, highlighting the worryingly close ties between the two nations.

China needs to be seen not to be lending any support to Russia which will materially assist it on the battlefield, otherwise escalation will be the order of the day in this conflict.

The anti-war message of Erich Maria Remarque’s classic 1928 novel has long resonated around the world. Sadly, that is still not the case on the eastern front.

Biden visits Kyiv and says ‘democracy stands’ in Ukraine ahead of anniversary