Joe Biden has stated Vladimir Putin anticipated his enemies to “roll over” when he invaded Ukraine however was met with the “iron will” of its allies – because the Russian president suspended a key nuclear treaty with the US after accusing the West of beginning the conflict.
The American president gave a highly-anticipated speech from the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle simply hours after Mr Putin delivered a state of the nation tackle in Russia.
Mr Biden was talking within the Polish capital a day after he made his highly-secretive and historic go to to Kyiv in Ukraine.
“I can report: Kyiv stands strong, Kyiv stands proud, it stands tall and, most important, it stands free,” Mr Biden stated on Tuesday night.
Ukraine conflict newest: Biden comes out dancing and declares ‘NATO is stronger than ever’
Mr Putin had earlier blamed the West for beginning the conflict in Ukraine and claimed his nation responded with drive “in order to stop it”.
He added that Ukraine was in talks with the West about weapons provides earlier than Russia invaded its neighbour on 24 February final yr.
“I would like to emphasise when Russia tried to find a peaceful solution they were playing with the lives of people and they were playing a dirty game,” Mr Putin stated.
Biden says ‘democracy was too robust’
Both leaders gave speeches presenting starkly contrasting views of the conflict because the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion approaches.
Mr Biden used his tackle to repeatedly accuse Mr Putin of underestimating Ukraine and the power of NATO earlier than ordering the full-scale offensive.
The US president stated: “When Russia invaded it wasn’t just Ukraine being tested, the whole world faced a test for the ages… all democracies were being tested.
“The questions we confronted have been so simple as they have been profound. Would we reply or would we glance the opposite means?
“Would we be strong or would we be weak?”
Mr Biden continued: “One year later we know the answer.
“We did reply, we might be robust, we might be united, and the world wouldn’t look the opposite means.”
Mr Biden said: “President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we might roll over. He was flawed.
“The Ukrainian people were too brave. America, Europe, a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we were too unified.
“Democracy was too robust. Instead of the simple victory he perceived and predicted, Putin left with burnt-out tanks and Russia’s forces in disarray.
“He thought he would get the Finlandization of NATO, instead he got the NATO-isation of Finland and Sweden.”
The time period Finlandization has been used to consult with the choice of a rustic to not problem a extra highly effective neighbour in overseas politics whereas sustaining nationwide sovereignty.
‘Autocrats have grown weaker’
“He thought NATO would fracture and divide. Instead, NATO was more united and more unified than ever before,” Mr Biden continued.
“He thought autocrats like himself were tough and leaders of democracies were soft, and then he met the iron will of America and nations everywhere who refused to accept a world governed by fear and force.”
Mr Biden added: “President Putin is confronted with something today that he didn’t think was possible a year ago.
“The democracies of the world have grown stronger not weaker, however the autocrats of the world have grown weaker not stronger.”
Mr Biden also said Russia had committed “abhorrent” crimes in Ukraine by targeting civilians with “loss of life and destruction” and had used rape as a “weapon of conflict”.
He also accused Russian forces of stealing Ukrainian children and bombing maternity hospitals and orphanages.
Mr Biden insisted the US support for Ukraine will never waiver.
Russia says the West ‘launched the genie from the bottle’
In his tackle hours earlier than Mr Biden’s, Mr Putin stated Russia determined to “protect its people and history” by conducting a “special military operation step-by-step” – as he warned that Moscow will “continue to resolve the objectives that are before us”.
The Russian president has at all times referred to the invasion as a “special military operation” because it started final yr.
“I would like to repeat, they started the war and we used force in order to stop it,” he stated.
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Mr Putin additionally introduced that Russia was suspending its participation in a key nuclear treaty with the US which limits the 2 sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals.
The New START treaty caps the variety of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy.
Mr Putin stated Russia was not absolutely withdrawing from the treaty and stated Moscow should stand able to resume nuclear weapons exams if the US does so.
The Russian president took purpose on the West and stated they “released the genie from the bottle” within the 10 years previous to the conflict, by beginning others.
He claimed Western international locations have been portray Russia as an enemy of the state to divert consideration from the corruption and socio-economic issues in their very own international locations.
On weapons, Mr Putin additionally claimed the West was “in negotiations” over the “supply of heavy military equipment and planes and anti-aircraft missile systems” earlier than the operation started.
While Russian forces have suffered three main battlefield reversals because the conflict started, it nonetheless controls round one-fifth of Ukraine.
In his wide-ranging speech, the Russian president additionally claimed thousands and thousands of individuals within the West are being “led to a real spiritual catastrophe”, as he criticised the “Anglican Church’s plan to consider the idea of a gender-neutral God”.
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In his go to to the Ukrainian capital on Monday, Mr Biden stated Washington would offer Kyiv with a brand new army assist package deal price $500m (£413m) as he was pictured strolling within the metropolis with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Mr Biden stated Mr Putin had believed Ukraine was “weak and the West was divided” and “thought he could outlast us” however added – “he was dead wrong”.
Mr Zelenskyy stated he mentioned long-range weapons with Mr Biden and described negotiations as “very fruitful”.
Source: information.sky.com”