Ukraine will never be Vladimir Putin’s victory: Joe Biden

In a speech in Poland, Joe Biden framed Western support for Ukraine as part of a larger defence of rules-based international order.

Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades in Warsaw, Poland. Picture: Getty Images.

President Biden struck a defiant tone in an address rallying allies and declaring that Russia would never prevail in its war with Ukraine, which is now entering its second year.

“Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased. They must be opposed,” Mr. Biden said before hundreds of flag-waving Poles and an array of diplomats gathered at the Royal Castle complex here. “Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden framed Western support for Ukraine as part of a larger defence of rules-based international order where territorial boundaries are respected and democracies defended.

The speech came a day after Mr. Biden made a risky and dramatic stop in Kyiv Monday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, touring the city amid air raid sirens. It was also delivered hours after a national address by Mr. Putin, in which he blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.

Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades. Picture; Getty Images.

Although the White House had said Mr. Biden’s speech wouldn’t be a rebuttal to Mr. Putin’s remarks, the president did deliver a message aimed at the Russian people. “The West was not planning to attack Russia as Putin said today, and millions of Russian citizens who only want to live in peace with their neighbours are not the enemy,” Mr. Biden said. “This war was never a necessity. It’s a tragedy.” The president’s speech was part of a three-day trip to Eastern Europe to ally allies in support of Ukraine and mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Earlier in the day, Mr. Biden met with Polish President Andrzej Duda and thanked Poland for his support of Ukraine and its many refugees. One Wednesday, Mr. Biden will meet with some North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members.

Mr. Biden visited Poland last March, roughly a month after Russia’s assault on Ukraine began, as part of an effort to demonstrate unity between Western partners in support of Ukraine. He toured a Warsaw stadium at the time where thousands of Ukrainian refugees who had fled the fighting in their homeland were being processed. Poland has registered roughly 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees for temporary protection.

Speaking at Warsaw’s Royal Castle last year, Mr. Biden framed the war as a “new battle for freedom” between democracies and autocracies and said Mr. Putin “cannot remain in power,” prompting the White House to clarify quickly that the U.S. president wasn’t calling for regime change in Moscow.

The White House said Friday that the administration’s policy toward ending the war remained unchanged. “What could end the war is real simple,” said John Kirby, the National Security Council co-ordinator for strategic communications. “All he’s got to do is take his troops out of Ukraine,” he said of Mr. Putin. “The war would be over.”

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