Joe Biden criticizes Vladimir Putin
US President Joe Biden announced a historic donation of air defense equipment to Ukraine on Tuesday and said Russia is failing in the war.
Welcoming NATO leaders to the historic 75th anniversary summit, Biden said the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Italy would provide Ukraine with equipment for five additional strategic air defense systems.
In the coming months, the U.S. and its partners plan to deliver dozens more tactical air defense systems to Ukraine, he said, adding that the U.S. would ensure that “Ukraine remains at the forefront of exporting critical air defense interceptors.”
“They will get this support before anyone else does. In total, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptor missiles over the next year to help protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missiles and Ukrainian troops from airstrikes on their front lines,” Biden said.
“Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war. More than two years after the start of the war chosen by President Vladimir Putin, its losses are staggering. More than 350,000 Russian soldiers are dead or wounded, almost a million (10 lakh) Russians, many of them young people, have left Russia because they no longer see a future in Russia,” he said.
“Kiev, boys and girls, was supposed to fall in five days, remember? Well, two and a half years later, it’s still standing and will continue to stand. All the allies knew that before this war, Putin thought NATO would collapse. Today, NATO is stronger than at any time in its history. When this senseless war began, Ukraine was a free country. Today, it is still a free country,” the US president said.
He reiterated that Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, saying the Russian president wants nothing less than the total subjugation of Ukraine in order to end the country’s democracy, destroy its culture and wipe it off the map.
“We know Putin will not stop at Ukraine, but make no mistake: Ukraine can and will stop Putin,” Biden said.
He said the war would end and Ukraine would remain a free and independent country. “Russia will not win. Ukraine will win. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a crucial moment for Europe, for the transatlantic community and, I would add, for the world. We should not forget that the fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security is no accident,” he said.
“NATO is stronger, smarter and more dynamic than when it was founded. And a billion people in Europe or North America, indeed around the world, will reap the fruits of its labor in the years to come in the form of security, opportunity and greater freedom,” the President said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in his remarks that with an aggressive Russia as a neighbor, there are no free options.
“There are no risk-free options in a war. And remember: The greatest cost and the greatest risk will be if Russia wins in Ukraine. We cannot allow that to happen. That would embolden not only President Putin, but other authoritarian leaders in Iran, North Korea and China,” he said.
He acknowledged that NATO’s continued success had never been a given, but rather was “the result of conscious choices and difficult decisions” – from the alliance’s founding to arms control negotiations, and from NATO’s enlargement at the end of the Cold War to its support for Ukraine today.
“Now is the time to stand up for freedom and democracy. The right place for that is Ukraine,” he said.
Stoltenberg concluded that the alliance would continue to face difficult questions in the future, but that “together we are stronger and safer in NATO.”
Biden presented Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian award, in recognition of his ten years of service at the helm of the alliance.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Recommended video of the day
Statue of Lord Balabhadra falls on people during Puri Rath Yatra, 9 injured
Schoolgirl lover Joanne Curtis star witness
Google Pixel 9 series: New design for AI features and more, what to expect | Tech News
Raymond Split: Value Unlocked at Play; Should You Buy, Hold or Sell Shares?
About The Author
