Vladimir Putin thought his enemies would “roll over” however as an alternative he “met the iron will of America and nations everywhere who refused to accept a world governed by fear”, Joe Biden has mentioned.
The US president gave a speech from the gardens of Warsaw’s Royal Castle in Poland a day after he made a 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 mentioned this night.
He continued: “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 approach?
“Would we be strong or would we be weak?”
‘Democracy was too sturdy’
Mr Biden continued: “One year later we know the answer.
“We did reply, we’d be sturdy, we’d be united, and the world wouldn’t look the opposite approach.”
The US president spoke hours after Mr Putin blamed the West for beginning the warfare in Ukraine and claimed his nation responded with power “in order to stop it” in a state of union handle in the present day.
Mr Biden mentioned: “President Putin ordered his tanks to roll into Ukraine, he thought we would roll over. He was wrong.
“The Ukrainian individuals have been too courageous. America, Europe, a coalition of countries from the Atlantic to the Pacific, we have been too unified.
“Democracy was too strong. Instead of the easy 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, as an alternative he bought the NATO-isation of Finland and Sweden.”
The term Finlandization has been used to refer to the decision of a country not to challenge a more powerful neighbour in foreign politics while maintaining national sovereignty.
“He thought NATO would fracture and divide. Instead, NATO was extra united and extra unified ever than ever earlier than,” Mr Biden continued.
“He thought autocrats like himself have been powerful and leaders of democracy have been smooth, after which he met the iron will of America and nations all over the place who refused to just accept a world ruled by worry and power.”
Mr Biden continued: “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.”
Putin accuses Ukraine and US of ‘playing a dirty game’
In his surprise trip to Ukraine on Monday, Mr Biden said Washington would provide Kyiv with a new military aid package worth $500m (£412m) as he was pictured walking in the city with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It came before Mr Putin said in his address today that Ukraine was in talks with the West about weapon supplies before Russia invaded its neighbour on 24 February last year.
“I want to emphasise when Russia tried to discover a peaceable answer they have been taking part in with the lives of individuals they usually have been taking part in a grimy recreation,” Mr Putin said.
He said Russia decided to “defend its individuals and historical past” by conducting a “particular army operation step-by-step” – as he warned that Moscow will “proceed to resolve the targets which are earlier than us”.
The Russian president has always referred to the invasion as a “particular army operation” since it began last year.
“I want to repeat, they began the warfare and we used power in an effort to cease it,” he mentioned within the handle.
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Biden’s secretive journey to Kyiv was disguised as a ‘golf tourney’ – here is the way it unfolded
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 with the US caps the variety of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy.
Mr Putin mentioned Russia was not absolutely withdrawing from the treaty and mentioned Moscow should stand able to resume nuclear weapons checks if the US does so.
NATO is most ‘consequential alliance in historical past’
Meanwhile, earlier in his go to to Poland in the present day, Mr Biden reaffirmed the United States’ dedication to European safety as he met Polish President Andrzej Duda throughout a sequence of consultations with allies to arrange for an much more difficult stage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have to have security in Europe,” he mentioned on the presidential palace in Warsaw on Tuesday.
“It’s that basic, that simple, that consequential.”
Mr Biden described NATO as “maybe the most consequential alliance in history” and he mentioned it’s “stronger than it’s ever been” regardless of Mr Putin’s hopes it could fracture over the warfare in Ukraine.
Mr Duda praised Mr Biden’s journey to Kyiv as “spectacular”, saying it “boosted (the) morale of Ukraine’s defenders”.
In his speech in Kyiv on Monday, Mr Biden mentioned 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 mentioned he mentioned long-range weapons with Mr Biden and described negotiations as “very fruitful”.
The US president had travelled to Kyiv on a 10-hour prepare experience from Poland after a journey from Washington DC that was shrouded in secrecy.
The solely two journalists allowed on the journey have been sworn to secrecy and had their telephones taken off them.
An e mail telling the journalists when to reach on the related air base was disguised as an invitation to a golf “tourney”.
Source: information.sky.com”