Cold War." The Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum wrote that the visit was a message not only to Moscow, but to European leaders as well as defense ministries and industries: "the paradigm has shifted, and the story has changed. The old "normal" is not coming back." Politicians Political scientist Eliot A. Cohen compared the symbolism of the trip to President John F. Kennedy or President Ronald Reagan at the Berlin Wall, and saw it as a gut punch to Putin, a leader "obsessed with strength". Republicans criticized Biden's travel to a war zone that does not have a considerable American military presence saying that Biden would have been better off going to the Mexican border or East Palestine, Ohio, that was recently affected by toxic waste released by a crashed train. United States Republican Congressmen Andy Ogles, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Matt Gaetz published statements on Twitter decrying the trip, while Democrats praised Biden's leadership and support of Ukraine. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, "the visit today was an effort to show, and not just tell, that we will continue to stand strong." White House officials described the visit as "unprecedented in modern times", due to the regular attacks that the site of the visit was under. Ukrainian residents and officials welcomed the visit as a historic moment and Zelenskyy said it "is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians." Andriy Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the visit also had strategic effect: "A lot of issues are being resolved and those that have been pending will be expedited". International reactions Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev dismissed the visit as an effort to increase the "huge quantities" of weapons and money already sent to Ukraine. Many of Russia's military pundits reacted with anger or embarrassment. Igor Girkin suggested "the grandfather" could have gone to the heavily contested Bakhmut area without any personal danger. Journalist Sergey Mardan wrote that it was a "demonstrative humiliation of Russia." A collective of service members noted the irony of Biden setting foot in Kyiv before Putin. Analysts as well as Polish President Andrzej Duda saw the trip as an important morale boost for the Ukrainian soldiers. After news of the visit broke, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced $5.5 billion in new financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Gallery See also 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi