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.

US president Joe Biden shakes hands with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they pose with Olena Zelenska, left, spouse of Mr Zelenskyy, at Mariinsky Palace during an unannounced visit in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. Picture: Evan Vucci, AP

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’.