‘Ukraine Will Never Be A Victory For Russia’

Topline

Biden warned Russia that the U.S. and its NATO allies “will not waver” in their support for Ukraine, he said Tuesday from Poland, while condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military for committing what he said were “crimes against humanity” in a speech just days before the February 24 anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Key Facts

In the speech, which came a day after the president made an impromptu visit to Kyiv, Biden reasserted the unity of NATO allies in their support for Ukraine.

Biden described what he said were failed calculations by Putin that “NATO would fracture and divide” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; instead, the president said, “democracies of the world have grown stronger, not weaker” while autocrats “have grown weaker, not stronger.”

Biden commended Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy, with whom he met Monday, calling him “a man whose courage” is “forged with fire and steel.”

Biden said the war “was never a necessity, it’s a tragedy,” and said Putin could “end the war with a word.”

The U.S. will announce new sanctions against Russia this week, Biden said, while condemning Russia for the “extraordinary brutality of Russian forces and mercenaries,” calling them “depravities, crimes against humanity.”

Biden also announced that the U.S. will host the NATO summit in 2024, the 75th anniversary of the alliance.

The visit is Biden’s second in less than a year to Poland, where two people were killed in November amid a Russian missile attack on Ukraine that breached Polish territory.

Key Background

Biden made a surprise stop in Kyiv on Monday ahead of his planned meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. The visit to Ukraine marks a historic trip for a U.S. president to a war-stricken country with no U.S. military present. The five-hour visit, Biden said from Kyiv, was a symbolic pledge to the “freedom of democracy at large.” Following a tour alongside Zelensky to a memorial for Ukrainian soldiers, Biden announced an additional $500 million for military and infrastructure aid to Ukraine in a joint meeting with Zelensky.

Tangent

Biden’s speech in Poland comes hours after Putin said in his delayed State of the Union address that Russia would suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty—a decision he blamed on U.S. military support for Ukraine. He also announced the deployment of additional ground-based nuclear warheads, a possible violation of the START agreement to activate no more than 1,550 warheads. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, suspect Russia is planning a large-scale attack to mark the first anniversary of the war.

Big Number

1.5 million. That’s the number of refugees Biden said Poland has accepted amid Russia’s war with Ukraine. The United Nations estimates roughly 8 million Ukrainian refugees are scattered across Europe.

What To Watch For

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi was in Moscow Tuesday, amid U.S. intelligence concerns publicized over the weekend that Beijing could supply Russian military forces with “lethal support.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is also planning to visit with Putin in the coming months, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources who said Xi will push for an end to the war and urge Russia not to use nuclear weapons.

Further Reading

Putin Says He’ll Suspend Russia’s Involvement In Last Nuclear Treaty With U.S.—After Biden’s Visit To Kyiv (Forbes)

Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Kyiv Nearly A Year Into Russia’s Invasion (Forbes)

U.S. Accuses Russia Of Crimes Against Humanity In Ukraine—Here’s What That Means (Forbes)