Russia-Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin was wrong, US is ready: Joe Biden in first State of the Union Address

Russia-Ukraine War:  Vladimir Putin was wrong, US is ready: Joe Biden in first State of the Union Address

Russia-Ukraine War:  Vladimir Putin was wrong, US is ready: Joe Biden in first State of the Union Address

PTI 

Washington : Accusing his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of waging a “premeditated and unprovoked” war against Ukraine, President Joe Biden in his maiden State of the Union Address said the United States is ready to tackle the challenge posed by him.

"Throughout our history we've learned this lesson – when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving. And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising," Biden said addressing the joint session of the Congress in his first State of the Union.

"That's why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II. The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. It matters. American diplomacy matters,” he said, launching a blistering attack on Putin.

"Putin's war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn't respond. And he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready,” Biden said.

Biden said that his Russian counterpart badly miscalculated the attack on Ukraine. "Putin thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people,” Biden said.

"In this struggle as President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy said in his speech to the European Parliament ‘Light will win over darkness’. The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is here tonight. Let each of us here tonight in this Chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world,” he said amidst applause from a packed house of lawmakers.

Biden said the US and its allies prepared extensively and carefully. “We spent months building a coalition of other freedom-loving nations from Europe and the Americas to Asia and Africa to confront Putin,” he said.

"We countered Russia's lies with truth. And now that he has acted the free world is holding him accountable,” he said amidst another round of applause.

"Together with our allies – we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. We are cutting off Russia's largest banks from the international financial system. Preventing Russia's central bank from defending the Russian rouble making Putin's $630 billion “war fund” worthless,” he said.