ukraine ukraine s door step. he said ukraine is unvowed one year after russian president vladimir putin sent tanks and troops rolling across the border in a war that is still raging. one year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of kyiv. well, i just came from a visit to kyiv, and i can report kyiv stands strong. kyiv stands proud. it stands tall. and most important, it stands industry. two extraordinary scenes today of two very different leaders. president biden spoke just hours after his russian counterpart delivered his own address in moscow. during his peach, president putin blamed the u.s. for the war. he also announced he s suspended russia s participation in the new s.t.a.r.t. arms control treaty. cnn white house correspondent phil mattingly is in warsaw, poland. phil, president biden said the russian invasion was beyond ukraine. it tested freedoms and democracies everywhere. and says if there s one wore that stops these autocracies, that word is no. reporter:
here. it is presidents day today, february 20th. presidential historian gonna be with us tonight. she s gonna be with us here live very very much looking forward to that conversation. but it was on this date, which won february 20th in 2014 when the group they call the heavenly hundred was killed. it was actually 118 people, call them the heavenly hundred. the youngest of them was just 16 years old. the oldest of them was 83 years old. it all happened as the culmination of protests that had started the previous november, people were protesting in ukraine. because the government of that country had had the chance to sign on to a big trade deal with europe. a deal that was expected to have big economic benefits for ukraine, it was definitely something that would bring ukraine closer to europe. closer to the west. people in ukraine frothy war, really looking forward to. it this is a popular thing they very much wanted it. but the president of ukraine at the time decided he was
speaking in poland a former eastern bloc country that s no stranger to russian aggression, biden started off by saying that the war has so far defied two big expectations. one, that kyiv would fall within days, and two, that the western alliance would splinter as the war dragged on. watch. one year ago the world was bracing for the fall of kyiv. well, i can report kyiv stands strong. kyiv stands proud. it stands tall. and most important it stands free. when russia invaded it wasn t just ukraine being tested, the whole world faced a test for the ages. europe was being tested. america was being tested. nato was being tested. all democracies are being tested. the questions we faced were simple as they were profound. would we be strong if we looked the other, would we be weak? all of our allies would be united or divided? one year later we know the answer. we did respond, we would be strong, we would be united, and the world would not look the other way. president biden also
visit poland, wasn t it? that was due to be in the next couple of days. this is all ahead of the anniversary of the war on ukraine. let s get to nic, he joins us here at the desk. i mean, obviously, this was out of the blue because of the massive security concerns. traveling overseas, it s not the first time that the president has done this, traveling without full disclosure what s happening. very tightly held information. very important for ukraine that the u.s. president should go there. remembering it wasn t so long that president zelenskyy himself visited the white house. that was when the white house committed to tanks which was a big moment because it allowed and paved the way for other nations to commit their tanks to ukraine. so, looking for what was said, what was discussed, what was announced but the symbolism, of course, is there, president biden visiting ukraine just a couple days ahead of the anniversary, the first anniversary, of russia s invasion of ukraine.
not staking together. he thought he could outlast us. i don t think he s thinking that right now. reporter: while zelenskyy called the moment the most important in the history of the u.s.-ukraine relationship. translator: this is the visit in this most difficult period for ukraine when ukraine is fighting for our own liberty. today our negotiations were very fruitful. they were very important and crucial. reporter: negotiations about continued military aid. today president biden announcing an almost half billion dollar aid package including ammunition, howitzers and air defense, but big-ticket items like longer range missiles and fighter jets still up for discussion. tran tran this conversation brings us closer to victory. reporter: this surprise, unprecedented visit on the eve of a bloody anniversary. extreme secrecy shrouding biden s journey. no word but there were signs, deserted streets and heavy police presence suggesting a prominent arrival. president biden left