Russian missiles that struck military targets in Lviv around 3:30 p.m. on March 26 put an early end to U.S. President Joe Biden's two-day visit to Poland. The former ambassador of Poland to Ukraine Jan Peclo, who was commenting on the news of the strike on TVP, had no doubts that it was a "signal" sent by Moscow to the American president. And to Poles as well, Newsweek Polska editor-in-chief Tomasz Lis added on Twitter.
Of course, the Russians did not want to "spoil" Biden's visit. After Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the chairman of the ruling Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS), visited Kiev and proposed the idea of sending "an armed peacekeeping contingent" to Ukraine under the aegis of NATO or "another international organization", it became clear that the real issue was the fragmentation of the Ukrainian state. But there was intrigue as to whether the North Atlantic Alliance would cover this operation conceived by Warsaw, or whether the Poles would have to act under their own flag.
On Thursday, March 24, something began to become clear. At a press conference in Brussels following an extraordinary meeting of NATO heads of state, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejected the idea of sending "peacekeeping troops" to Ukraine to "avoid war with Russia." However, there was still a "plan B," which suggested that Poland, together with several states, some of which might not even be members of the alliance, would act on their own. But only if Washington gave its approval.
That is why such attention was riveted to Biden's visit, which was unusual in many senses. He even started it not from Warsaw, but from the Polish city of Rzeszow, on the Ukrainian border, where 82 division of American paratroopers is deployed. The U.S. president met with them on Friday, March 25, and allowed himself to be ambiguous. Biden's speech might have given the impression that the U.S. military would be visiting Ukraine. But CNN immediately corrected him, saying that the president had misspoken or misspelled.
But the intrigue remained till the last moment. Because Biden was meeting yesterday in Warsaw not only with Polish politicians, but also with Ukrainian foreign and defense ministers, which suggested that the US president was warning them about something important. Impatience was growing, everyone was waiting for Biden's concluding speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw at 20:00.
In this situation, Moscow was ahead of the game. The Russian operation in Lviv demonstrated what awaits any foreign military contingent if it dares to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border. It was also a clear response to Kaczynski's alleged "peacekeeping" initiative, which concealed the idea of "appropriating" three to five western Ukrainian regions.
Biden, 16 minutes late for his speech at the Royal Castle, ended up repeating that "American troops in Europe are not there to engage Russia, but to protect our allies," and called to "prepare for a long fight." But one need not have flown to Poland to utter such political platitudes.
Of course, the Russians did not want to "spoil" Biden's visit. After Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the chairman of the ruling Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS), visited Kiev and proposed the idea of sending "an armed peacekeeping contingent" to Ukraine under the aegis of NATO or "another international organization", it became clear that the real issue was the fragmentation of the Ukrainian state. But there was intrigue as to whether the North Atlantic Alliance would cover this operation conceived by Warsaw, or whether the Poles would have to act under their own flag.
On Thursday, March 24, something began to become clear. At a press conference in Brussels following an extraordinary meeting of NATO heads of state, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg rejected the idea of sending "peacekeeping troops" to Ukraine to "avoid war with Russia." However, there was still a "plan B," which suggested that Poland, together with several states, some of which might not even be members of the alliance, would act on their own. But only if Washington gave its approval.
That is why such attention was riveted to Biden's visit, which was unusual in many senses. He even started it not from Warsaw, but from the Polish city of Rzeszow, on the Ukrainian border, where 82 division of American paratroopers is deployed. The U.S. president met with them on Friday, March 25, and allowed himself to be ambiguous. Biden's speech might have given the impression that the U.S. military would be visiting Ukraine. But CNN immediately corrected him, saying that the president had misspoken or misspelled.
But the intrigue remained till the last moment. Because Biden was meeting yesterday in Warsaw not only with Polish politicians, but also with Ukrainian foreign and defense ministers, which suggested that the US president was warning them about something important. Impatience was growing, everyone was waiting for Biden's concluding speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw at 20:00.
In this situation, Moscow was ahead of the game. The Russian operation in Lviv demonstrated what awaits any foreign military contingent if it dares to cross the Polish-Ukrainian border. It was also a clear response to Kaczynski's alleged "peacekeeping" initiative, which concealed the idea of "appropriating" three to five western Ukrainian regions.
Biden, 16 minutes late for his speech at the Royal Castle, ended up repeating that "American troops in Europe are not there to engage Russia, but to protect our allies," and called to "prepare for a long fight." But one need not have flown to Poland to utter such political platitudes.
