President Joe Biden will travel to Poland on Friday, his second stop on a last-minute trip through Europe aimed at coordinating the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The President’s day begins in Brussels, where he’ll meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before departing for Poland.
Upon his arrival at Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport, Biden will be greeted by Polish President Andrzej Duda and receive a briefing on the humanitarian response to the war. He’ll meet with service members from the 82nd Airborne Division in Rzeszów before traveling to Warsaw in the evening.
On Saturday, the White House says Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Duda to discuss how the US and allies are responding to the refugee crisis that has ensued as a result of the war. He’ll also deliver remarks before returning to Washington.
Biden’s travel to Poland comes after meetings on Thursday in Brussels, where he attended a slate of emergency summits, announced new actions — such as sanctions against hundreds of members of Russia’s parliament and a commitment to admit 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine — and conferred with global leaders on how the world will respond if Russia deploys a chemical, biological or nuclear weapon.
Refugee crisis: The White House has said the Poland visit is intended to highlight the massive refugee crisis that has ensued since Russia’s war in Ukraine began a month ago.
The President confirmed on Thursday that he hopes to meet with Ukrainian refugees while in Poland. It’s not clear, however, when or where those potential meetings would take place.
More than 3.6 million refugees have now fled Ukraine, according to data from the United Nations refugee agency. A vast majority of those refugees have fled to Ukraine’s western neighbors across Europe.
Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west, has registered more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees crossing into the country. However, the number of refugees staying in Poland is lower, with many continuing on in their journey to other countries.
Read more:
