From July 21 to July 22, 2009, the Vice-President of the United States Joe Biden visited Ukraine. On the morning of July 22, he delivered a foreign-policy speech to 500 guests at the Ukrainian House in downtown Kyiv. Among the specially-invited guests were nearly twenty Muskie and UGRAD alumni. Before the speech, alumni were encouraged to network with prominent Ukrainian journalists, businesspeople, and politicians, as well as representatives from the U.S. Embassy, USAID, and other foreign organizations. Vice-President Biden speech re-affirmed foreign policy goals of the current administration and emphasized the U.S.'s commitment to Ukraine. After the speech, alumni were invited to lunch near the convention hall to share their thoughts on the visit and the speech.

According to Vasyl Yablonskyy (Muskie 2005), "Biden didn't provide any new ideas or insights on U.S.- Ukraine relations...however, since this is the first visit of a U.S. politician of such caliber to Ukraine after the U.S. elections, Biden's mere presence here is extremely important. This shows that the U.S. is ready to remain committed, and Ukraine should really try hard to capitalize on this." Mr. Yablonskyy was also pleased to hear that Biden "reiterated the fact that U.S. funding for various Ukraine programs will continue.  I was afraid that the Obama administration may choose to scale down its involvement in the region as it becomes more preoccupied with [its] own internal economic issues."
For Olena Pashnina (UGRAD 2004-2005), "The ability to be present at such event and to listen to the speech of the Vice-President of the U.S. is very distinctive and meaningful." In addition, Ms. Pashnina believed that Mr. Biden is familiar with the history of Ukraine: "For me, as a Ukrainian, it was very important that during his speech Mr. Biden showed his knowledge of Ukraine and Ukrainian history--that's a sign of respect. I was also impressed by [Biden] quoting Taras Shevchenko's poem and even mentioning the year it was written." 

Another alumna, Halyna Kurylo (UGRAD 2006-2007), added that she "liked that [Biden] was very straightforward about the U.S. policy towards Ukraine. Joe Biden repeated several times that the promises of 2004 had not been kept and it is high time we walked the walk. Harsh? - In a way. However, it also shows equal treatment of Ukraine by the U.S. We have to act as an independent state, not just talk independent - that is the message I received and I totally agree with the Vice-President."