US president issues rallying cry in Warsaw speech but warns of ‘very bitter days’ ahead in defence of democracy
Joe Biden has claimed Vladimir Putin’s year of war against Ukraine has left behind “burned-out tanks and Russian forces in disarray” but he also warned of “very bitter days” ahead in the defence of democracy in eastern Europe.
Biden did not respond to the announcement or mention Putin’s speech in his own address. The White House was adamant the Russian leader had changed the date of his speech to coincide with Biden’s trip to eastern Europe. However, the US president did ridicule Putin for the failure of his ambitions to conquer“Instead of an easy victory he predicted, Putin left burned-out tanks and Russian forces in disarray,” Biden said.
In his own speech, Putin also stuck to familiar themes, in his case the claim that it was somehow Russia under threat from its enemies, justifying the continuation of the war in Ukraine, and the reference to Russia’s nuclear weapons as an apparent deterrent against further western support for Kyiv. “This is a desperate political move by Putin to stoke fear and undermine support for Ukraine,” said Derek Johnson, a leader of the Global Zero movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons. “There’s no need for the US to respond in kind or adjust its nuclear posture, and any move to do so only plays into Putin’s hands.”
, the Warsaw event was designed to project an image of boldness and vigour and combat his portrayal by his adversaries in Moscow and in domestic politics as frail and ineffectual. The president made explicit reference to those expectations in his speech.
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