BERLIN — President Joe Biden leaves Thursday for what is likely to be his final trip as president to Europe, where Germany will bestow its highest honor on him for spearheading global efforts to protect Ukraine as European leaders strategize for a potential future in which the United States could be less engaged in the transatlantic alliance.

U.S. President Joe Biden takes off for Berlin on Thursday for a rapid visit to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine with the leaders of Germany, France and Britain as Kyiv urges its western allies to take urgent steps to end the fighting.

President Joe Biden has long believed diplomacy is about personal relationships — and he'll spend Friday in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as his time in office is on the cusp of ending. There is also a planned meeting with other leaders in the “European Quad,

Biden's wartime visit comes during an escalation in the Mideast conflict and a deep humanitarian crisis, as millions of civilians struggle to leave the region.

President Joe Biden will make an extraordinary wartime visit to Israel this week as he seeks to demonstrate staunch support for the country as it works to eliminate Hamas while also pressing for ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza.