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US President Joe Biden has become the latest and most powerful Western leader to visit Kyiv since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

The show of solidarity for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his people came as a surprise to many, as the White House said last week that the US president had no intention of visiting Ukraine.

Whether or not that statement was true at the time is something we will likely never know, but some details of how the president’s secretive and historic visit was carried out are beginning to emerge.

Here is how the high-security operation unfolded.

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‘I gotta handshake here, too?’

Journalists told to await ‘arrival instructions for the golf tourney’

Two journalists were summoned to a private meeting with the White House’s communications director Kate Bedingfield on Friday.

They were informed that President Biden would be travelling to Kyiv and that they were the only two journalists who would be allowed to travel with him.

They would form the “travel pool” – meaning it would be their responsibility to share details with other news organisations.

These pool reporters were sworn to secrecy about the trip and told to look out for an email containing instructions for an early Sunday morning departure from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

The subject line would read: “Arrival instructions for the golf tourney.”

The email arrived just after 3pm eastern US time (8pm UK time) on Saturday.

The journalists were told to report to the Andrews base between 2am and 2.15am eastern US time (7am and 7.15am UK time) the following morning.

Joe Biden sits on the train with his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Pic: AP
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Joe Biden sits on the train with his National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Pic: AP

Departure from the air base

The pool journalists arrived at the base and had their phones taken from them. The devices were not returned until their arrival at the US embassy in Kyiv more than 24 hours later.

They then boarded an Air Force C-32 often used to fly into smaller airports during domestic travel.

Before its departure, the plane sat in the dark next to a hangar with the shades drawn and away from the tarmac where it is typically parked for presidential travel.

Air Force One departed from the Andrews base at 4.15am eastern US time (9.15am UK time) on Sunday.

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Biden talks ‘very fruitful’ – Zelenskyy

Biden arrives in Germany

Air Force One touched down at Ramstein Air Base in Germany at 5.13pm local time (4.13pm UK time) Sunday under slightly overcast skies to refuel after an approximately seven-hour flight.

The plane remained with its shades down for the duration of its time on the ground, which lasted roughly an hour and 15 minutes.

The journalists on board remained in the press cabin the entire time and did not see Mr Biden at any point during the flight or stop in Ramstein.

Air Force One took off at 6.29pm local time (5.29pm UK time) after the sun had set and the skies were dark.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Arrival in Rzeszow

Air Force One landed at the Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland at 7.57pm local time (8:57pm UK time) on Sunday.

The airport was clear upon Mr Biden’s arrival.

The journalists did not see the US president get out of Air Force One before he was quickly ushered towards an SUV.

The president’s motorcade began rolling at 8.12pm local time (7.12pm UK time) on a roughly one-hour drive along a fairly empty eastbound highway.

One of the pool journalists counted at least 20 cars in the motorcade which consisted of a mix of minivans, SUVs and suburbans – and sirens were not used to avoid drawing attention.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Biden catches the train from Poland to Ukraine

Biden’s motorcade arrived at the Przemysl Głowny train station at approximately 9.15pm local time (8.15pm UK time).

The motorcade pulled directly up to a train that was mostly purple with two large strips at the bottom from its exterior and large square windows with the shades mostly drawn.

A handful of the train cars were blue with a yellow stripe along the middle and were reminiscent of the trains that have brought refugees into Poland from Ukraine.

Mr Biden was dropped directly in front of his train car.

The pool journalists were escorted to their own train car and put in separate sleeper cabins, each of which contained four single bunkbed-style beds.

One of the journalists was told by a security officer that the train had approximately eight cars, including the engines.

Most of the train was occupied by a heavy security presence.

A small group of passengers awaiting a separate train on the opposite side of the tracks were huddled in conversation and occasionally glanced over, but it was unclear if they could make out any of the activity unfolding before them.

The train left Przemysl Głowny at 9.37pm local time (8.37pm UK time).

One of the pool journalists was told by an agent on board that the train crossed the border into Ukraine at roughly 10pm local time on Sunday but this was not confirmed.

Much of the journey occurred in the dark and so there was little visible beyond streetlights and the shadows of buildings in the distance.

There was no interaction between the pool journalists and White House staff traveling with the president throughout the 10-hour journey, nor any sightings of Mr Biden on his favourite mode of transport.

There were a handful of stops, at least once to pick up additional security, along the way. It was not always clear what prompted the stops, most of which were brief, and the journalists were isolated from the staff on board.

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Biden and Zelenskyy meet in Kyiv

Biden arrives in Kyiv

The sun had risen as the train carrying President Biden approached the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

One of the journalists aboard described how “views from the window largely consisted of graffiti walls, barren winter trees and a colourful assortment of brick homes – many of them in pastel colours”.

The train came to a stop at the Kyiv-Pasazhyrsky station at roughly 8am local time (6am UK time) on Monday.

The area around the platform had been cleared and US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, awaited Mr Biden and his staff in chilly outdoor conditions.

The president’s first words after stepping off the train were: “It’s good to be back in Kyiv.”

The motorcade, which again was a mix of SUVs, minivans and armoured vehicles, rolled from the train station to Mariinsky Palace – the official residence of the Ukrainian president.

Along the way, the motorcade passed Kyiv’s Independence Square, the site of major demonstrations in 2013 and 2014.

The president’s stops consisted of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace, a walkabout with Mr Zelenskyy at St. Michael’s Cathedral, and a stop at the US embassy in Kyiv.

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Joe Biden arrives in Poland

Biden heads back to Poland

Biden departed Kyiv just before 1.10pm local time (11.10am UK time) in the same train he arrived in.

The train crossed the border back into Poland shortly after 8pm local time (7pm UK time).

The train arrived at the Przemyśl Główny at 8:45pm (7.45pm).

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At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding as authorities face scrutiny over response

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At least 51 people killed in Texas flooding as authorities face scrutiny over response

At least 51 people have died after heavy rain caused flash flooding, with water bursting from the banks of the Guadalupe River in Texas.

The overflowing water began sweeping into Kerr County and other areas around 4am local time on Friday, killing at least 43 people in the county.

This includes at least 15 children and 28 adults, with five children and 12 adults pending identification, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said at a news conference.

In nearby Kendall County, one person has died. At least four people were killed in Travis County, while at least two people died in Burnet County. Another person has died in the city of San Angelo in Tom Green County.

People comfort each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
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People comfort each other in Kerrville, Texas. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP

People stand near debris following flash flooding, in Kerrville, Texas, U.S. July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello
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Large piles of debris in Kerrville, Texas, following the flooding. Pic: Reuters//Marco Bello

More than 700 children were staying at Camp Mystic

An unknown number of people remain missing, including 27 girls from Camp Mystic in Kerr County, a Christian summer camp along the Guadalupe River.

Rescuers have already saved hundreds of people and would work around the clock to find those still unaccounted for, Texas governor Greg Abbott said.

But as rescue teams are searching for the missing, Texas officials are facing scrutiny over their preparations and why residents and summer camps for children that are dotted along the river were not alerted sooner or told to evacuate.

More on Texas

AccuWeather said the private forecasting company and the National Weather Service (NWS) sent warnings about potential flash flooding hours before the devastation, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.

People look at debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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Debris on the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt. Pic: AP Photo/Julio Cortez

An overturned vehicle is caught in debris along the Guadalupe River after a flash flood struck the area, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Kerrville,
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An overturned vehicle is caught in debris along the Guadalupe River. Pic: AP

The NWS later issued flash flood emergencies – a rare alert notifying of imminent danger.

“These warnings should have provided officials with ample time to evacuate camps such as Camp Mystic and get people to safety,” AccuWeather said in a statement that called Texas Hill County one of the most flash-flood-prone areas of the US because of its terrain and many water crossings.

But one NWS forecast earlier in the week had called for up to six inches of rain, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.”It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw,” he said.

Officials said they had not expected such an intense downpour of rain, equivalent to months’ worth in a few short hours, insisting that no one saw the flood potential coming.

One river near Camp Mystic rose 22ft in two hours, according to Bob Fogarty, meteorologist with the NWS’s Austin/San Antonio office. The gauge failed after recording a level of 29.5ft.

A wall is missing on a building at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez
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A wall is missing on a building at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez

Bedding items are seen outside sleeping quarters at Camp Mystic. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez
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Bedding items are seen outside sleeping quarters at Camp Mystic. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez

A Sheriff's deputy pauses while searching for the missing in Hunt, Texas.Pic: AP/Julio Cortez
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A Sheriff’s deputy pauses while searching for the missing in Hunt, Texas.Pic: AP/Julio Cortez

“People, businesses, and governments should take action based on Flash Flood Warnings that are issued, regardless of the rainfall amounts that have occurred or are forecast,” Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement.

“We know we get rain. We know the river rises,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s top elected official. “But nobody saw this coming.”

Judge Kelly said the county considered a flood warning system along the Guadalupe River that would have functioned like a tornado warning siren about six or seven years ago, before he was elected, but that the idea never got off the ground because “the public reeled at the cost”.

Pic: Reuters
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A drone view of Comfort, Texas. Pic: Reuters

Officials comb through the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez
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Officials comb through the banks of the Guadalupe River in Hunt, Texas. Pic: AP/Julio Cortez

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was asked during a news conference on Saturday whether the flash flood warnings came through quickly enough: “We know that everyone wants more warning time, and that is why we are working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long.”

Presidential cuts to climate and weather organisations have also been criticised in the wake of the floods after Donald Trump‘s administration ordered 800 job cuts at the science and climate organisation NOAA, the parent organisation of the NWS, which predicts and warns about extreme weather like the Texas floods.

A 30% cut to its budget is also in the pipeline, subject to approval by Congress.

Read more from Sky News:
Elon Musk says he’s created his own political party
Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ passes final hurdle in Congress

Professor Costa Samaras, who worked on energy policy at the White House under President Joe Biden, said NOAA had been in the middle of developing new flood maps for neighbourhoods and that cuts to NOAA were “devastating”.

“Accurate weather forecasts matter. FEMA and NOAA matter. Because little girls’ lives matter,” said Frank Figliuzzi, a national security and intelligence analyst at Sky’s US partner organisation NBC News.

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Elon Musk says he’s created his own political party – the ‘America Party’

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Elon Musk says he's created his own political party - the 'America Party'

Elon Musk says he has created a new political party – the America Party –
after asking his followers if he should do so in an online poll.

It follows his public falling out with Republican President Donald Trump.

On Friday, the billionaire had asked his followers on X whether a new US political party should be created.

On Saturday evening he wrote on the same platform: “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy.

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk

The world’s richest man made the announcement just one day after President Trump signed a tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which Musk had fiercely opposed.

More on Elon Musk

Musk had previously said we would form and fund a new political party to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill.

From bromance to bust-up

The Tesla boss backed Trump’s election campaign with more than a quarter of a billion dollars, later rewarded with a high profile role running the newly created department of government efficiency (DOGE).

But observers of the two men, both with huge wealth and reputations, wondered how long the bromance would last.

Elon Musk receives a golden key from U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Pic: Reuters
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Donald Trump gave Musk a warm send-off in the Oval Office in May. Pic: Reuters

In May Musk left the role, still on good terms with Trump but criticising key parts of his legislative agenda.

After that, the attacks ramped up, with Musk slamming the sweeping tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination” and Trump hitting back in a barbed tit-for-tat.

Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billion-dollar federal subsidies that flow to Musk’s companies, and said he would even consider deporting him.

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Is this the most powerful Trump’s been?

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Is this the most powerful Trump's been?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈

Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ has passed and he’s due to sign it into law on Independence Day. Mark Stone and David Blevins discuss how the bill will supercharge his presidency, despite its critics.

They also chat Gaza and Ukraine, as Donald Trump meets with freed Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander and talks to Vladimir Putin.

If you’ve got a question you’d like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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