evidence: Biden in Ukraine: How the president's surprise visit was kept a secret [...] Appearing in a war zone under regular attack, White House officials describe Joe Biden's unexpected visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv as "unprecedented in modern times". [...] President Biden then spent 10 hours on a train to get to Kyiv. He could have visited other locations inside Ukraine that would have been easier to get to, but he wanted to make the symbolic trip to Kyiv itself.