US President Joe Biden, in addition to his visit to Poland on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, plans to speak by phone with the leaders of France, Britain and Italy, the White House announced today .

From Warsaw, where he will be on Tuesday and Wednesday, the US president wants to “send a message to Putin and the Russian people,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing.

Biden, who will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Washington on March 3, will speak next week “with some of our allies”, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

As the first anniversary of the invasion approaches “we can proudly say that our support for Ukraine remains unwavering and (…) the international coalition supporting Ukraine is stronger than ever,” the spokesman added.

Kirby reiterated that Biden does not plan to go to Ukraine next week and that a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he welcomed to the White House in December, is not on his agenda.