The extraordinary measures taken to transport Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the US capital demonstrate the significance of the relationship.
Mr Zelensky's trip to Washington, D C, on Tuesday began with an overnight train ride to Poland before boarding a US Air Force plane, reportedly accompanied by an F-15 fighter jet and a NATO spy plane.
Early this week, rumors of the trip to Washington began to circulate; however, it wasn't until early on Wednesday morning, when US officials were confident that Ukraine's leader was on his way to the US capital in safety, that the trip was confirmed.
The visit had been talked about for months, but the final preparations were made quickly. On December 11, the two presidents talked about it, and Mr Zelensky got an invitation three days later. Final plans could not be implemented until confirmation of the visit had been obtained.
It should not come as a surprise that no official information about the trip made public. Even in times of peace, presidential visits are subject to high levels of security, but these risks are even higher for leaders in wartime.
Mr Zelensky appears to have taken a covert train ride through Ukraine to Poland, where he was spotted early on Wednesday at a railway station in the border town of P R Z-E M Y S L. Because air travel over Ukraine is too risky due to the threat posed by Russian missiles.
Polish television captured footage of Mr Zelensky's entourage walking along a platform with a blue-yellow Ukrainian train in the background. The group then boarded a line of waiting cars, some of which were black Chevrolet Suburbans, the US government's favorite model.
Mr Zelensky had traveled to Kyiv by train with a lot of Western leaders and officials before, but this was his first trip abroad since Russia's war started
Soon after, flight data showed a Boeing C-40B from the United States Air Force, thought to be carrying Mr. Zelensky, taking off from R Z-E S Z O W Airport, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the west.
A-N A-T O spy plane scanned the area before the plane entered the airspace above the North Sea before it headed northwest toward the United Kingdom. Russian submarines are known to patrol the sea.
Additionally, Mr Zelensky's flight was accompanied for a portion of its journey by a US F-15 fighter jet that launched from an England base.
The plane finally landed close to Washington around noon, nearly ten hours after takeoff and many more hours of travel for the Ukrainian president.
As is the case with all visiting heads of state, he was protected upon arrival by the Secret Service; however, because Mr. Zelensky was the leader of a nation in conflict with Russia, security personnel were extra vigilant.
One senior official told ABC News, "We are very aware that Russia has assets in this country and may try to do something". We are aware of the stakes.
The visit appeared to go without a hitch, despite the concerns. On Thursday he halted momentarily in P O L-A N D returning to meet his partner, Andrzej Duda. In addition, by Friday, he was back at his desk in Kyiv and had uploaded a brief video to Telegram: We are making progress toward triumph, he said
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