Ukraine war: Biden shakes Putin's chair
Created: 03/26/2022, 20:24
US President Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
© Petr David Josek/AP/dpa
"For God's sake, this man can't stay in power": At the end of his trip to Poland, US President Biden talked himself into a rage in Warsaw.
Kyiv/Warsaw – US President Joe Biden has openly questioned the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war.
"For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power," Biden said in a speech in Poland on Saturday.
Shortly before, Russian rockets had hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv - only about 80 kilometers from the Polish border.
A strong sentence - and half a denial
A little later, in Warsaw, US President Biden got angry in what was announced as a historic speech in front of around 1,000 invited guests.
He not only reiterated NATO's promise of assistance to all 30 alliance partners and said to Putin: "Don't even think about taking action against a centimeter of NATO territory."
Biden also appealed directly to the people of Russia to distance themselves from the war against Ukraine.
"You, the Russian people, are not our enemy," Biden said.
But the war is not worthy of her.
He referred to the attacks on civilians.
Biden mentioned Putin by name several times, sometimes he simply referred to him as a “dictator”.
The speech finally culminated in the sentence that this man should not remain in power.
However, the White House immediately tried to put the statement into perspective.
A US official said Biden said Putin should not exercise power over neighbors or over the region.
Biden to Ukrainians: "We are with you"
Biden also pledged the support of the United States to the people of Ukraine.
"We're with you," Biden said.
Russia is trying to crush democracy at home and is also endangering neighboring countries.
There is no justification for Russia's brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, Biden said.
He condemned Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin's portrayal that Russia was carrying out "denazification" in Ukraine.
"That's a lie, that's just plain cynical and also obscene," Biden said.
Biden continued that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was Jewish and that his father's family was a victim of the Holocaust.
"And Putin, like all autocrats, has the gall to think might makes right."
more on the subject
Biden: Putin must not remain in power
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Erdogan calls on Putin to "honorably withdraw" - Russia: "No movement on fundamental positions"
Biden had previously met in Warsaw with Ukrainian refugees and two government ministers in Kyiv.
He thanked Poland for taking in the many refugees.
According to official figures, almost 2.3 million people have now arrived there.
Around 260,000 were officially registered in Germany.
dpa
