Ahead of President Joe Biden's secret trip to Ukraine on 20 February 2023, the United States of America had given a heads-up to Russia, according to news agency Associated Press. Despite this, Washington tried to keep the trip under wraps.
Biden left the White House at around 3:30 am on 19 February to board a plane which was parked in the dark with its window-shades down. He jetted off to Europe in an Air Force C-32 plane, instead of Air Force One - the US President's usual aerial ride.
After refuelling in Germany, the plane switched off its transponder until it reached Poland around an hour later. Then, the US President took a train for a 10-hour overnight journey to Kyiv.
Biden arrived in Ukraine's capital at 8 am on 20 February. The American leader roamed around Kyiv in a white SUV instead of the usual limousine.
All this while, US surveillance planes kept an eye on Kyiv from Polish airspace.