Biden in Poland: “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, never!
US President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday that Ukraine will “never” be a victory for Russia and praised Kiev’s resistance, which “is still standing” a year after the start of the Russian invasion, the anniversary of which falls on the 24th.
“Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia,” Biden told hundreds of people during a long-awaited speech in the gardens of Warsaw’s former royal castle.
Biden, who made a highly symbolic visit to Kiev yesterday, Monday, said he could testify that Ukraine’s capital “still stands” despite Russian armed forces trying to conquer it at the start of the war in an offensive that failed.
“A year after the bombs started falling and a year after Russian tanks entered Ukraine, the country is still independent and free today. From Kherson to Kiev, that land has been reclaimed,” Biden said.
The US president put the war in Ukraine in a broader context: he alluded to the values of sovereignty in the global liberal order created after World War II and saw the conflict as highlighting the struggle between democracies and autocracies in the world.
“We are seeing again today what the people of Poland and people all over Europe have experienced for decades, the hunger of the autocrats cannot be satiated, it must be opposed. And the autocrats understand only one word: no, no, no. You will not take my country, you will not take my freedom, you will not take my future,” Biden cried out.
He acknowledged, however, that there would be “hard and bitter” days in the remainder of the war, but assured that the US would continue to support Ukraine and reaffirmed its commitment to NATO, mentioning especially article 5 on mutual defence in its founding treaty.
Biden also announced that the United States will host next year’s NATO summit.
The castle where Biden delivered his speech was one of the sites of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi Germany, which was then occupying the country. The building was decorated with multiple American, Polish and Ukrainian flags, as well as being illuminated in yellow and blue, the colours of Ukraine.
Among the crowd were Polish citizens and Ukrainian refugees, who despite the cold and hours of waiting waved small flags of their countries and of the United States as they listened to Biden speak.
Biden thanks Duda for his support for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden thanked his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda on Tuesday for helping Ukraine receive more than 1.5 million refugees and highlighted NATO’s strength nearly a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Biden and Duda met at the presidential palace in Warsaw accompanied by members of their respective governments and amid great expectation that Washington would increase the number of troops permanently stationed in Poland, a number that currently stands at 11,000.
The Polish government had anticipated that it would raise the issue at the meeting with Biden, but in statements that were open to the press, neither leader mentioned it.
“The United States needs Poland and NATO as much as Poland and NATO need the United States,” Biden proclaimed, in a message intended to show Washington’s commitment to the defence of Poland, which shares a border of some 530 kilometres with Ukraine and is one of the countries closest to the war.
Biden said that, almost a year after the Russian invasion, “NATO is stronger than ever” and thanked Duda for the “incredible” support Poland has given Ukraine in recent months.
He also announced a “new strategic partnership” with Poland to build nuclear power plants to increase energy production for the future.
Opposite Biden seated across a long wooden table was Duda, who alluded in his remarks to Biden’s visit to Kiev on Monday, where he announced an additional $500 million in military aid to Ukraine.
In particular, Duda considered that the trip to Kiev served to “boost the morale” of the Ukrainians and sent the message that “the free world has not forgotten them”, just three days before the 24th, when the anniversary of the start of the war is commemorated.
The Polish leader said Biden’s presence in Warsaw was a “visible sign that Poland is safe and secure” despite the war raging just a few kilometres away.
Biden was received at the presidential palace in Warsaw with full honours: Polish soldiers dressed in various shades of blue and white squared up to his arrival, while American and Polish flags fluttered from the building as a strong wind blew.
