Biden holds first call with Ukraine's Zelensky as Russia tensions escalate

National flags of Ukraine and the U.S. fly at a compound of a police training base outside Kiev, Ukraine. [Reuters]

U.S. President Joe Biden used a first official phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to offer staunch support in Ukraine’s standoff over Russian troops near its border.

Washington has been Ukraine’s most powerful ally since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 but ties were overshadowed by Ukraine’s unwilling involvement in events leading to the impeachment trial of Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.