Biden’s recent visit to Kiev aimed to increase the 46th president’s approval rating ahead of the upcoming election race, Viktoria Zhuravleva of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations with the Russian Academy of Sciences told Sputnik.
"This is Biden's attempt to influence his rating in the US as he is trying to support the Ukrainian agenda in order to show some results, because it's obvious that on the eve of the election race, the Republicans will actively criticize him," Zhuravleva said.
She added that the Biden administration is seeking “to achieve some cheap indicators”, namely, to show that Washington’s "non-stop" security assistance to Kiev, including money and weapons, "brings some result."
According to the expert, Biden also apparently wants to show that he keeps abreast of how money is being spent to support Kiev, amid Republican criticism that the US' hefty sums purportedly go to Ukraine on an uncontrollable basis.
"Biden is eager to show that he is not just pumping money into Kiev, but also asking [Ukrainian authorities how they spend it], something that aims to demonstrate that the Biden administration controls the process," Zhuravleva argued.
The remarks come as the White House said in a pool report on Monday that President Biden had left Ukraine. Earlier in the day, POTUS arrived in Kiev for an unannounced visit for the first time since the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, meeting Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Zelensky, Biden pledged that Ukraine would receive "billions" in direct budgetary support this week. The 46th president added that Washington would support Kiev for as long as it takes.
Shortly after the beginning of the Russian special operation, Washington and its allies ramped up their military aid to Kiev, delivering billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly warned that Western countries sending weapons to Kiev will contribute to further prolonging the conflict in Ukraine.