President Biden delivered a major speech from Warsaw, Poland Tuesday night fresh off his surprise visit to neighboring Ukraine where he met with President Zelensky.
"I have just come from a visit to Kyiv, and I can report that Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall. And most importantly, it stands free," Biden said at the opening of his remarks.
Just hours prior, Russia's President Vladimir Putin delivered his own address wherein he vowed his country will continue unbending toward fulfilling military objectives in Ukraine. Biden addressed the "dictator" - as he referenced Putin, while vowing to never let Ukraine fall to the Russians.
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| Image: AP |
Appearing to directly answer Putin, Biden said while in front of the Royal Warsaw Castle Gardens in Warsaw:
"A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people's love of liberty. Brutality will never grind down the will of the free. And Ukraine — Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never."
Both speeches served as one-year anniversary rival markers of the Feb.24 invasion of Ukraine, coming up on Friday.
Biden alluded to the crucial timing, offering the following assessment: "One year after the bombs began to fall, Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Ukraine is still independent and free," he said. "From Kherson to Kyiv, Ukrainian fighter have reclaimed their land."
"One year later we know the answers. Yes, we would stand up for sovereignty, and we did. Yes, we would stand up for the right of people to live free from aggression, and we did. And we would stand up for democracy and we did." The US has given Kiev billions of dollars, mostly in defense aid and weapons, including tanks (a transfer which will be long in process).
However, by all accounts things aren't going so well for the Ukrainians in Bakhmut. At a moment Russian forces have the city nearly completely encircled, Zelensky on Monday for the first time appeared to waver on maintaining defense of the city in Donbas...
"Yes, it is not a particularly big town. In fact, like many others in Donbas, (it’s been) devastated by the Russians," Zelensky told Italian publication Corriere della Sera in an interview published Sunday, per Reuters.
"It is important for us to defend it, but not at any price and not for everyone to die," he added.
Regardless, Biden in his Warsaw speech painted a grandiose picture of good vs. evil, light vs. darkness in saying, "Stand with us, we will stand with you. Let us move forward with faith and conviction and with an abiding commitment to be allies, not of darkness but of light, not of oppression but of liberation, not of captivity but, yes, of freedom."
Meanwhile, the below was not quite the 'show of strength' Biden's press team and handlers were hoping for...
👴🇺🇸🇵🇱Biden was being managed at the red carped in Poland pic.twitter.com/JO7Okk1qPZ
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) February 21, 2023
Biden also teased new sanctions. "We continue to maintain the largest sanctions regime ever imposed in any country in history. And we're going to announce more sanctions this week together with our partners." Sources told The Wall Street Journal the administration is planning to impose new sanctions on some 200 Russian individuals and entities in total.
