As part of his European trip this week, President Joe Biden will travel to Poland, a crucial NATO ally amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House announced Sunday night.

The president will first travel to Brussels, Belgium, where he will attend a NATO summit and a scheduled European Council summit.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden will head to Europe this week to meet with other world leaders as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, the White House confirmed Tuesday

  • Biden will first attend a NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium, as well as a scheduled European Council summit

  • The president will also travel to Poland on Friday for a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda; Poland hosts thousands of U.S. troops and has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees

  • The goal of the trip, Psaki said last week, is for Biden "to meet in person face-to-face with his European counterparts and talk about, assess where we are at this point in the conflict in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia"

Poland, a critical NATO ally amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, shares a border with Ukraine, has taken in more than 2 million Ukrainian refugees – more than any other country – and hosts thousands of U.S. troops.

Biden will travel to Warsaw, Poland, on Friday, where he will have a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda, where he "will discuss how the United States, alongside our Allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created," according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

Last week, Psaki announced that Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for "an extraordinary NATO Summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine as well as to refer reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies."

The president will also attend a "scheduled European Council summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict," she added.

Psaki's briefing came just minutes after the U.S. Mission to NATO said on Twitter that President Biden will travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week for an "extraordinary summit," which announced Tuesday afternoon by NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg.

“While he’s there, his goal is to meet in person face-to-face with his European counterparts and talk about, assess where we are at this point in the conflict in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia," Psaki said Tuesday. "We’ve been incredibly aligned to date."

“That doesn’t happen by accident," the White House spokeswoman added. "The president is a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So it’s an opportunity to do exactly that.”

The president is set to speak Monday with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues.