US informed Russia of Joe Biden’s Kyiv visit hours before departure

Details emerge of how White House planned unprecedented' visit and meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskiy

The White House notified the Kremlin of Joe Biden's intention to visit Kyiv hours before he departed for Ukraine, it has been revealed, as the details began to emerge of how the US president pulled off his high-profile diplomatic coup.

Meticulously planned over several months by a tight circle of key advisers, Biden's visit was described as unprecedented in modern times" by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, on the grounds that it was the first time a US president had visited the capital of the country at war where the United States military does not control the critical infrastructure".