Biden to travel to Poland at the end of February, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine

President Biden will travel to Poland at the end of the month, the White House announced on Friday, just about a year after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president would be visiting Poland from Feb. 20 to Feb. 22. 

“He will meet with President Duda of Poland to discuss our bilateral cooperation as well as our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO’s deterrence,” Jean-Pierre said.

She added that the president would deliver remarks ahead of the one-year mark of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.” 

While abroad, the president will also meet with members of the “Bucharest Nine,” a group of nine NATO countries, to reaffirm the United States’ support for the security of the alliance. Those countries are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

The White House has demurred on whether Mr. Biden will at some point travel to Ukraine. 

Mr. Biden said recently that he would be going to Poland but didn’t know when.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the U.S. is concerned Russian President Vladimir Putin could be using the winter to resupply and regroup to aggravate his assault when spring arrives. 

“All that’s to say, we do expect again that as the weather improves, that fighting will probably get more vicious,” Kirby said. 

Kathryn Watson

Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.