Biden’s big trip to Europe framed by Ukraine urgency

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden has made multiple key presidential visits to Europe since 2021, yet his trip to France this week may be his most important yet.

With the war in Ukraine still raging, there are growing signs of Kyiv being on the backfoot, militarily. It is even possible that 2024 could see Russia delivering a decisive breakthrough.

In late May, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned the “situation in Ukraine has once more dramatically deteriorated”. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has recently asked the West to become more involved in the war because of the extremely unfavourable challenges facing his troops on the front line.