[1][2] Out of security concerns, his travel plans had not been made public prior to his arrival, and only two journalists accompanied him, having been sworn to secrecy three days earlier.

[9] The Pentagon and the Secret Service opposed Biden visiting Kyiv, and there were rumors about a possible meeting near the Polish border or in Lviv, Western Ukraine.

Upon arrival at Rzeszów and transfer by car to Przemyśl, Biden boarded an overnight train to Kyiv, the method by which many world leaders visited the capital since the beginning of the invasion.

[19] The White House stated the visit to an active warzone was unprecedented as the U.S. does not have a military presence in Ukraine, nor a significant diplomatic footprint in Kyiv.

[29] Oleksandr Kamyshin, the CEO of Ukrainian Railways, said the company named the train "Rail Force One" and apologized for the delays caused to other passengers.

"[31][32][33] Biden announced an additional military aid package of US$500 million for Ukraine, including ammunition for the HIMARS rocket launcher system.

[19][34][35][36] Luke Harding from The Guardian called the visit "arguably the most consequential made by any US president to a European country since the end of the Cold War.

"[6] Anne Applebaum wrote in The Atlantic that the visit was a message not only to Moscow, but also to European leaders as well as defense ministries and industries: "the paradigm has shifted, and the story has changed.

"[25] Andriy Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the visit also had strategic effect: "A lot of issues are being resolved and those that have been pending will be expedited".

[25] Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the visit as an effort to increase the "huge quantities" of weapons and money already sent to Ukraine.

[10][44] After news of the visit broke, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced $5.5 billion in new financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.