Update
“Won’t run away”
Biden sends a clear message to Putin
March 8, 2024, 4:23 a.m
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During his State of the Union address, US President Biden cannot avoid the topic of Ukraine. He stands by her side and sends clear words to Kremlin chief Putin. He speaks just as clearly about his competitor Donald Trump – especially because of his statements about NATO.
US President Joe Biden wants to continue to defy Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin after Russia’s attack on Ukraine. “My message to President Putin, whom I have known for a long time, is simple: We will not run away,” Biden said in his State of the Union address to both houses of Parliament. “If anyone in this room thinks Putin is going to go after Ukraine, that’s wrong. I assure you he won’t,” the Democrat warned.
Biden is again calling on Congress to release further US aid to the country attacked by Russia. “You Ukraine can stop Putin. If we stand by Ukraine and supply the weapons,” said the 81-year-old. Ukraine is not asking for US soldiers and he will not send any, the US President emphasized. The Republicans wanted the United States to abandon its leadership role in the world.
“Dangerous and unacceptable”
Biden also condemned statements made by his predecessor Donald Trump about the NATO defense alliance. These are “dangerous and unacceptable,” he warned. The 77-year-old recently made it clear during a campaign appearance that he would not provide American support to NATO allies with low defense spending in the event of a Russian attack. “We have to stand up to Putin,” said Biden.
The USA has been considered Kiev’s most important ally in the past two years since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The US government supplied Ukraine with massive amounts of weapons and ammunition. However, there has been no supply from the USA for quite some time. The background is a domestic political blockade in the US Congress, where Republicans have so far refused further aid to Kiev.
Further information on the Ukraine War can be found here
A new aid package that provides around $60 billion for Ukraine has passed the Senate. But now it is stuck in the second chamber, the House of Representatives. Republican Chairman Mike Johnson doesn’t even want to bring the package to a vote. A vote is theoretically still possible – but a complicated, lengthy procedure is necessary.
Biggest threat to democracy
In his speech, the US President also addressed the storming of the Capitol. “My predecessor and some of you here are trying to bury the truth about January 6th,” he said, referring to former US President Donald Trump and the storming of the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021, when Trump- Supporters stormed the parliament building in the capital Washington.
The insurgents who came to Washington to stop the peaceful transfer of power and reverse the will of the people were not patriots. The conspiracy to overturn the election result “represented the greatest threat to democracy since the American Civil War,” Biden said. But America was strong and democracy prevailed. Biden did not mention Trump by name, only referring to him as his predecessor.