Joe Biden has warned of “hard and bitter days ahead” as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark, but vowed that the US and allies “will not waver” in supporting the Ukrainians.
A day after his surprise visit to Kyiv, the US president used a strongly worded address in neighbouring Poland to praise allies in Europe for stepping up over the past year and to send a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that “Nato will not be divided, and we will not tire”.
“One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv,” he said before a crowd of thousands outside Warsaw’s Royal Castle. “I can report: Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud. It stands tall and, most important, it stands free.”
With Russia and Ukraine preparing spring offensives, Mr Biden insisted there will be no backing down from what he has portrayed as a global struggle between democracy and autocracy — though polling suggests American support for ongoing military assistance appears to be softening.
“Democracies of the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever,” he said, adding the US and allies will “have Ukraine’s back”.
Mr Biden’s speech came a day after his unannounced trip to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and walked the city streets as an air raid siren blared.
Last year, weeks after Russian forces began their attacks on Ukraine, Mr Biden delivered a harsh condemnation of Mr Putin from the gardens of the castle.
Speaking on Tuesday to a crowd that included Polish citizens and Ukrainian refugees — and millions more following in Ukraine, Russia and around the world — he made his case that Mr Putin’s war has been a failure.
“When President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong,” Mr Biden said.
President Zelenskyy and all Ukrainians remind the world every day what courage is.
They remind us that freedom is priceless.
And worth fighting for.
For as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/GlBT0Sg9ZLAdvertisement— President Biden (@POTUS) February 20, 2023
The president also declared “the democracies of the world have grown stronger” while the world’s autocrats — including Mr Putin — have become weaker.
“Autocrats only understand one word — no, no, no,” he said. “No, you will not take my country. No, you will not take my freedom. No, you will not take my future.”
Earlier in the day, Mr Biden with Polish President Andrzej Duda as he began consultations with allies to prepare for a new phase of the war.
“We have to have security in Europe,” Mr Biden said at the presidential palace. “It’s that basic, that simple, that consequential.”
He described Nato as “maybe the most consequential alliance in history” which is “stronger than it’s ever been” despite the Russian leader’s hopes that it would fracture over the war in Ukraine.
Mr Duda praised the American president’s visit to Kyiv as “spectacular”, saying it “boosted morale of Ukraine’s defenders”.
He said the trip was “a sign that the free world, and its biggest leader, the president of the United States, stands by them”.
On Wednesday, Mr Biden will again meet Mr Duda along with other leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the eastern-most members of the Nato military alliance. Ukraine is not a member.
While Mr Biden is looking to use his whirlwind trip to Europe as a moment of affirmation for Ukraine and allies, the White House has also acknowledged there is no clear end game to the war in the near term, and the situation on the ground has become increasingly complex.
Mr Biden and Mr Zelensky discussed capabilities Ukraine needs “to be able to succeed on the battlefield” in the months ahead, said US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Mr Zelensky has been pushing the US and European allies to provide fighter jets and long-range missile systems known as ATACMS — which Mr Biden has declined to provide so far.
Mr Sullivan declined to comment on whether there was any movement on that during the leaders’ talk.
