Joe Biden standing with Volodymyr Zelensky before St. Michael Cathedral's golden spires in Kyiv will be remembered as a moment when history turns.
The AP 's Evan Vucci took the dramatic picture, an affirmation of old-time wire service photography. Vucci, along with the Wall Street Journal's Sabrina Siddiqui, recently returned from maternity leave, were the only reporters on the trip. The New York Times and Washington Post must be wondering why they weren't invited.
Biden affirmed American, and NATO, support for Zelensky and his country's resistance to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's war to destroy Ukraine's independence. The American president's secret journey from Washington came just before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion.
The astounding high-risk gesture by the 80-year old Biden, accompanied by a handful of aides, was reminiscent of a Cold War thriller. Biden promised Zelensky to send more ammunition, while still holding off on new weapons such as jets and long-range missiles which Zelensky and the Ukrainians desperately need to repel the Russians from their home.
While the undermanned Ukrainians have withstood the ill-prepared Russian army, Putin still holds a huge advantage in manpower and economic resources.
Unable to defeat the Ukrainian Army militarily, the Russians have engaged in what Vice President Kamala Harris recently branded crimes against humanity. The Russian forces have raped and killed civilians, destroyed power stations and other critical infrastructure and bombed schools, residential areas and businesses.
Vladimir Lenin's train journey to St. Petersburg Station in 1917 led to the Soviet Revolution and the totalitarian empire Putin desperately wishes to re-establish.
In contrast, Biden with his daring trip seeks to uphold freedom and democracy in a country that suffered Soviet repression.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine reverberates with historical echoes: World War I trench warfare, European ideologies and rivalries from World War II, the brutality of medieval and ancient warfare, shadows of the Holocaust, age-old traditions of language, religion and culture.
Republicans' churlish criticism of Biden falls on on the wrong side of history, like those isolationists who supported Hitler and Mussolini before World War II.
Biden's trip will lead to an escalation of fighting. The United States and NATO will boost their commitment with upgraded weapons and possibly even troops. Putin's nuclear risk rises, and China threatens to give "lethal aid" to its ally.
But Biden's stand with Zelensky bolsters Ukraine's resolve, and the likelihood of its eventual victory
Vucci's photo of Biden and Zelensky will forever mark that rebirth of freedom.
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