(DCWatchdog.com) – On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris departed for Europe, where she is visiting Poland and Romania.
According to senior administration officials, during her visit to these Eastern European countries, Harris is expected to deliver a message about the U.S. standing “firmly and resolutely” with NATO allies.
Harris is also expected to announce that the U.S.will continue to provide aid to Ukraine during her trip.
Previewing the trip that comes as Russia’s war with Ukraine enters its third week, officials said it will “demonstrate the strength and unity of the NATO alliance and U.S. support for NATO’s eastern flank allies in the face of Russian aggression.”
While in Warsaw, Harris will hold bilateral meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawieki. A meeting with Canadian President Justin Trudeau will also be on the agenda, as he will be in Poland at the same time.
Officials revealed that Harris would engage Ukrainian refugees during her visit to Poland. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, over 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine to seek refuge in Poland.
She will also visit the Warsaw embassy staff and Kyiv embassy staff who have relocated to Poland amid a tense battle between Russia and Ukraine.
Harris will also be meeting with U.S. and Polish service members in Warsaw, thanking them for their service. Late Friday, she will travel to Bucharest, Romania, holding bilateral meetings with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Embassy Bucharest staff members.
Harris’s schedule will also include discussions on how the U.S. and NATO allies can impose even stricter economic sanctions on Russia, creating a “strategic defeat” over Moscow and defending “international standards and norms.”
Her visit to Warsaw comes as Poland offered, on Tuesday, to give the U.S. its entire fleet of MIG-29 fighter jets in exchange for the opportunity to purchase American F-16s. The request would be part of a deal to support the Ukrainian air force while upgrading the Polish air force with NATO aircraft.
