UNITED STATES President Joe Biden paid an unannounced visit to Kiev to meet Ukrainain leader Volodymyr Zelensky today.

This comes days after his country ramped up the rhetoric against China by accusing it of planning to provide arms to Russia. 

Visiting just before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr Biden labelled the conflict “a brutal and unjust war.”

He added: “One year later, Kiev stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

Mr Biden looked to be trying to keep the US’s allies in line with their support for Ukraine: some appeared eager to welcome the prospect of a peace initiative, which China said at the weekend that it is on the verge of unveiling. 

In Kiev, Mr Biden announced the US was going to provide an extra  $500 million (£415m) worth of military assistance — on top of the more than $50 billion already provided.

And though the White House continues to insist the US is not at war with Russia, the Pentagon is set to increase ammunition production to the biggest level in decades.

The Biden visit to Kiev follows warnings to China against providing military equipment to Russia. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the weekend he had warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at the Munich security conference that it would be a serious problem after intelligence reports suggested China was planning to provide arms and ammunition to Russia. 

But China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin dismissed the US accusation today.

He said: “We do not accept the United States finger-pointing on China-Russian relations, let alone coercion and pressure.”

The US has previously used so-called intelligence reports to justify military action which later have been found to be false: notably before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.