A day after his surprise visit to war-hit Ukraine, US President Joe Biden landed in Poland on Tuesday.
Addressing a crowd in Warsaw, Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin thought he was ‘tough’ but he met ‘iron will of America’.
Joe Biden’s address came hours after Putin delivered his annual state of the nation address in the Russian parliament, where he accused the US and Kyiv for his invasion of Ukraine.
While maintaining the US’s support to Ukraine, Biden dismissed Putin’s charge that the US and other western nations were plotting to attack Russia.
“One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. I just visited – and I can report that Kyiv stands strong. Kyiv stands proud and tall. And most importantly, Kyiv stands free,” Biden said.
“When Russia invaded, it was not just Ukraine being tested. The whole world faced a test for the ages,” CNN quoted Biden as saying. “Europe was being tested. America was being tested. Nato was being tested.”
Calling the Russian premier an “autocrat”, Biden further said, “Autocrats only understand one word: No. No, no. No, you will not take my country. No, you will not take my freedom. No, you will not take my future.”
“Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia – never,” the US president told the Warsaw crowd.
On Monday, Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy and reaffirm the US’s “unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy”.
The visit is also being seen as a gesture of solidarity days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.