"I’m going to be going to Poland; I don’t know when, though,” Biden said on Monday, responding to a question from Polish Radio’s Washington correspondent Marek Wałkuski.
Biden also said on Monday that the United States would not be providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
News outlets reported last week that Biden may travel to Europe and visit Poland in February to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
According to the US broadcaster CNN, White House officials are discussing the possibility of such a trip and details have yet to be finalized.
A senior US administration official has said that one stop under consideration is Poland, a key NATO ally housing thousands of American troops and a hub for Western weapons transfers to Ukraine, CNN has reported.
US service members are also training Ukrainian troops in Poland, the official said, according to CNN.
Due to security concerns, it is highly unlikely that Biden would travel to Ukraine as part of this trip, officials were quoted as saying.
The Politico news service reported at the weekend that military officials were pushing the US Department of Defense to approve sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help the country defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine has renewed its request for modern fighters in recent days, with a top adviser to the country’s defense minister announcing a stepped-up push for jets from the United States and European countries, Politico reported.
A top Ukrainian official said on Saturday that Ukraine and its Western allies were engaged in “fast-track” talks on possible deliveries of both military aircraft and long-range missiles, according to Politico.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Monday was day 341 of Russia’s full-scale war against its southern neighbour.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, whitehouse.gov
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.