Joe Biden says ‘butcher’ Vladimir Putin ‘cannot remain in power’

Joe Biden has labelled Vladimir Putin a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power” – forcing the White House to quickly backtrack.

The United States continues to downtalk US President Joe Biden’s comments that his Russian counterpart is a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power”.

It appeared to be the first time Mr Biden has explicitly called for the Russian leader’s removal – marking a sharp contrast from prior White House statements, which have emphasised that regime change in Russia is not the policy of the United States.

“For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” Mr Biden said at the end of his speech in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, serving as the capstone on his four-day trip to Europe.

Within minutes of his comments, however, a White House official played down the remarks, saying the US President “was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change”.

“The President’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region,” the official said.

At a news conference in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it wasn’t the intention of President Biden to topple Putin.

“I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else,” Blinken said during a visit to Jerusalem on Sunday.

“As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia – or anywhere else, for that matter.”

“In this case, as in any case, it’s up to the people of the country in question. It’s up to the Russian people,” Blinken said.

US President Joe Biden delivers a speech about the Russian war in Ukraine at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

Vladimir Putin is a ‘butcher’ who ‘cannot remain in power’, Mr Biden said. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP

How it happened

The remark came at the end of a sweeping address in which Mr Biden took a strong line against the Russian incursion into Ukraine – calling the aggression “nothing less than a direct challenge to the ruled-based international order established since the end of World War II”.

Mr Biden compared Ukraine’s resistance against Russia to the anti-Soviet “battle for freedom” and said the world must prepare for a “long fight ahead”.

“We stand with you,” he told Ukrainians in the speech, which he opened with the words of Polish Pope St John Paul II: “Be not afraid.”

He said Russia had suffered a “strategic failure” in Ukraine and told ordinary Russians they were “not our enemy”, urging them to blame Mr Putin for the heavy sanctions imposed by the West.

Crowds wait ahead of Mr Biden’s address in Warsaw. Picture: Omar Marques/Getty Images

“This is not who are you. This is not the future reserve you deserve for your families and your children. I’m telling you the truth. This war is not worthy of you, the Russian people,” Mr Biden said.

“Putin can and must end of this war. The American people will stand with you and the brave citizens of Ukraine who want peace.”

He also warned Russia not to move on an “inch” of NATO territory, reiterating the “sacred obligation” of collective defence for alliance members.

While the White House moved quickly to temper Mr Biden’s unprecedented comments on his Russian counterpart, the Kremlin swiftly made its displeasure clear.

Russia replies

Personal attacks, one Russian official said, were “narrowing down the window of opportunity” for bilateral relations.

Mr Biden’s speech came as two Russian missiles earlier struck a fuel depot in western Ukraine’s Lviv, a rare attack on a city just 70 kilometres from the Polish border, which has escaped serious fighting.

At least five people were wounded, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said, while reporters in the city centre said they saw plumes of thick black smoke.

Mr Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, vowing to destroy the country’s military and topple pro-Western President Volodymyr Zelensky.

But his army has made little progress on capturing key cities, and has instead targeted hospitals, residential buildings and schools in increasingly deadly attacks.

On the front lines, Russia’s far-bigger military continue to combat determined Ukrainian defenders who are using Western-supplied weapons – from near the capital Kyiv to Kharkiv, the Donbas region and the devastated southern port city of Mariupol.

A humanitarian convoy leaving Mariupol, including ambulances carrying wounded children, was being held up at Russian checkpoints, a Ukrainian official said.

“The ambulances carrying wounded children are also queuing. The people have been deprived of water and food for two days,” she wrote on Telegram, blasting Russian troops for “creating obstacles”.

Authorities have said they fear some 300 civilians in Mariupol may have died in a Russian air strike on a theatre being used as a bomb shelter last week.

At least five people were wounded after Russian missiles struck a fuel depot in Lviv. Picture: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP

Firefighters battle a blaze at an industrial facility after a Russian military attack in Lviv. Picture: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In Kharkiv, where local authorities reported 44 artillery strikes and 140 rocket assaults in a single day, residents were resigned to the incessant bombardments.

Artillery attacks in the city of Brovary, east of Kyiv, cost three lives, regional officials said in a statement, and a 19th century Orthodox Church was destroyed.

Russian forces have taken control of Slavutych, the town where workers at the Chernobyl nuclear plant live, briefly detaining the mayor, regional Ukrainian authorities said.

Residents of the town protested, prompting the invading forces to fire shots in the air and lob stun grenades into the crowd.

Kyiv said it was shortening a planned 35-hour curfew to just Saturday 8.00pm to Sunday 7.00am, as Britain’s defence ministry said Ukrainian counter-attacks were underway near the capital.

Ukrainian forces were also attempting to recapture Kherson, the only major city held by Russian invasion troops, a Pentagon official said.

In the face of unexpectedly fierce Ukrainian resistance, Russia’s army has exhibited poor discipline and morale, suffering from faulty equipment and employing tactics sometimes involving brutality toward civilians, Western analysts say.

– with Fox News