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2/21/2023
Ukrainian Railways (UZ) CEO Alexander Kamyshin today briefly described on Twitter how his company managed to transport President Joe Biden on a high-risk 20-hour roundtrip between Poland and Kyiv, Ukraine.
Although it was known that Biden planned to travel to Poland, his trip to Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a surprise.
Biden early Sunday morning flew to a city on the Poland-Ukraine border, where he boarded the UZ train for a 10-hour trip to Kyiv. The U.S. president spent four hours in Kyiv, then boarded the train for the 10-hour journey back to Poland. Currently, the railroad is the only way for people to travel from Poland to Kyiv.
In his Twitter thread, Kamyshin referred to the train that transported Biden as "RailForceOne."
"Let's just say that Biden's visit to Kyiv yesterday was a historic moment," Kamyshin tweeted. "So, it was an honor and a privilege for me and the whole #IronTeam of @Ukrzaliznytsia to deal with this visit. I must say, it was complicated. But we did it. That's how #RailForceOne appeared."
Kamyshin added he couldn't go into detail about the planning for the secret mission to securely transport Biden for 20 hours.
"Just believe me, it was quite a complicated project for us," Kamyshin tweeted. "Our #IronDiplomacy program helps my country withstand in this war, that's why we #KeepRunning."
Kamyshin also apologized for the railroad breaking its on-time performance (OTP) pledge yesterday. Since taking over UZ as CEO less than a year ago, Kamyshin has pledged to improve the railroad's operations, including OTP.
"We had to delay some of our trains to give a way to #RailForceOne. It was painful for me and my team, but I had to do that. So only 90% of our trains arrived on time yesterday. I apologize," he tweeted.
In starting his Twitter thread, Kamyshin referenced Biden's favorite railroad back home:
"So, here is the story of @POTUS's visit to #Kyiv and how #RailForceOne was born. Grab some 🍿, @Amtrak."