By Peter Nicholas —
NBC News
WARSAW, Poland — President Joe Biden demonstrated a personal commitment to Ukraine's survival when he slipped into the war zone without warning Monday, putting his own security at risk.
Still, a presidential address is important, and Biden's celebrates the resilience of a small, democratic state facing off against a larger autocracy hell-bent on expansion.
Biden began his speech by saying he was in Warsaw nearly a year ago, weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin "unleashed his murderous assault on Ukraine, the biggest land war in Europe since World War II had begun."
"The principles that had been the cornerstone of peace, prosperity and stability on this planet, for more than 75 years, were in danger of being shattered," he said.
Biden, speaking on the grounds of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, also proclaimed that as the war enters its second year, the United States and its allies remain united in their support for Ukraine's efforts to repel the Russian invasion.
President Joe Biden delivers a speech to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at the Royal Castle Gardens in Warsaw. Evan Vucci / AP
"The Ukrainian people are very brave. Democracy remained strong," he said almost a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
[Russia suspends the last remaining major nuclear treaty with the US due to the invasion in Ukraine]
Biden's speech went through many drafts before reaching its final form, an administration official said.
Biden and Jake Sullivan, a security adviser, were photographed working on the text while riding in a train carriage on Monday, leaving Ukraine and heading for the safe confines of a neighboring NATO country, Poland.
A recurring theme was the inability of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the architect of the invasion, to achieve any of his goals since the start of the war.
Biden pointed out that Putin did not capture kyiv, oust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, divide the West or fracture the NATO military alliance.
Although it wasn't exactly a split-screen moment, Putin delivered his own speech on Tuesday morning, in which he blamed the West for provoking the war.
He did not mention Biden by name.
"They started the war and we are using force to stop it," Putin said.
He called on Russia to suspend its participation in the New START Treaty, the nuclear weapons deal between the two nations.
Russia suspends its participation in the latest agreement with the US for the control of nuclear weapons
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Before Biden's statements, the vice president, Kamala Harris, advanced the Administration's arguments against Putin in a speech delivered at the Security Conference in Munich (Germany).
Harris said Russia had committed
"crimes against humanity"
and issued a stark warning to Putin.
"I say to all those who have perpetrated these crimes and to their superiors who are complicit in these crimes: they will be held accountable," he said.
Russian forces have attacked a maternity hospital in Ukraine and have killed, tortured, deported and raped civilians in the course of the war, it condemned.
"The vice president's speech alone was a powerful message heading into anniversary week about how important it is to stick together to denounce Russia for what it has done and what it holds accountable for," the senior official said. the administration.
“You will see the president amplify that message.”
Biden also directly disputed Putin's claim that the West instigated the conflict.
He reiterated an argument that the White House has been defending for months: if Russia stops fighting, the war will end;
if Ukraine stops fighting, she will disappear as a sovereign country.
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"That tells you everything you need to know about who is responsible for this war," Sullivan said.
“This was a war of choice.
Putin decided to free her.
He could have chosen not to and he can choose even now to end it, to go home.
Nobody is attacking Russia.
The idea that Russia was under some kind of military threat from Ukraine or from any other party is absurd."
The focus of Biden's three-day trip to the region was his surprise appearance in kyiv, where he met with Zelenskyy and discussed the next phase of the war.
What made the visit even more extraordinary was the relative lack of security for the US commander-in-chief.
When presidents visit war scenes, they usually go to places under the control of US troops.
But there are no US forces stationed in Ukraine, leaving Biden more exposed.
Before Biden's arrival in Kiev, the United States gave Russia notice that he was coming to avoid any misunderstanding about what the Russians would “see,” Sullivan said.
Russia acknowledged receipt of the message but did not provide any further response, he said.
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For all the attention paid to Biden's foray into Ukraine, his speech could prove historic as the world faces a 21st century iteration of the Cold War, this time between democratic and authoritarian states.
Last year he caused quite a stir when he spoke in Poland and improvised a phrase suggesting he wanted to see Putin ousted: "For God's sake, this man can't stay in power," he said.
The White House quickly withdrew the comment.
This time, everything indicates that Biden stuck to the final text.
"The president understands that this is a unique moment and he is going to take advantage of it," said the administration official.
One of the audiences that Biden has to reach is his own country.
Polls show that Americans continue to overwhelmingly support the Ukraine fight, but are less willing to send money and weapons.
“Some of this speech is directed at the American public,” said Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland.
"Why do we care?
We care about Ukraine for the same reason that we care about Europe during World War II.
We don't want dictators running wild."
