President Biden said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not a decent man” but “a dictator” who has concerned him for decades while addressing a shift in U.S. policy allowing Ukraine to strike near Russia’s border with American weapons.
In an interview on Thursday, President Joe Biden emphasized that he is allowing Ukraine to use weapons provided by the U.S. to strike inside a limited portion of Russia, appearing to draw a distinction between that and approving their use for attacks further into the country amid threats of retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In response to the recent decision by the U.S., Putin suggested that Russia could provide weapons to others to hit Western targets and threatened the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons
Asked about threats from Putin, Biden noted that he has known the Russian leader for more than 40 years and he has “concerned” him for over 40 years
“They’re authorized to be used in proximity to the border when they are being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine,” Biden said in an interview with ABC News’ David Muir taped Thursday in Normandy, where the president commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day. “We’re not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia, we’re not authorizing strikes near Moscow, on the Kremlin.”
“We’re not talking about giving them weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin,” Biden continued. “Just across the border where they are receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into Ukraine to kill Ukrainians.”
Asked about threats from Putin in response to the decision, Biden noted that he has known the Russian leader for more than 40 years and he has “concerned” him the entire time.
“He’s not a decent man, he’s a dictator, and he is struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going,” Biden said.
In response to the move by the U.S. and other NATO allies, Putin on Wednesday suggested that Russia could provide weapons to others to hit Western targets and threatened the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons, The Associated Press reported.
“That would mark their direct involvement in the war against the Russian Federation, and we reserve the right to act the same way,” the Russian leader said of Biden’s decision while taking questions from international reporters in St. Petersburg.
While in Europe last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Biden approved Ukraine’s request to use weapons provided by the U.S. to attack targets inside a limited portion of Russian territory, near the border with Kharkiv for the purpose of defending Ukraine’s second largest city.
The move marked a notable shift for the White House, which has long said it does not “encourage” or “enable” attacks by Ukraine on Russian soil using U.S.-provided weapons.
The U.S. and Western leaders have been cautious about sparking a wider war and Putin has threatened that direct involvement from the West could lead to nuclear conflict.
With Russia recently gaining ground on the battlefield – due, in part, according to the Biden administration, to Congress’ delay in approving more U.S. aid to Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Western allies to allow Kyiv to use the weapons they provide to strike inside Russia.
Germany and France also recently made a similar decision to the U.S. and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg last week called for members of the alliance to reconsider restrictions placed on use of their weapons.
Biden is expected to meet with Zelenskyy during his trip to France this week.
In his D-Day remarks on Thursday, the president drew parallels between the Allied forces banding together to fight Nazi Germany in World War II and the global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago,” he said. “They never fade, aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force, these are perennial, and the struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending. Here in Europe, we see one stark example: Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant bent on domination. Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never backing down.”
“We will not walk away, because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated, and it will not end there,” Biden added. “Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened, all of Europe will be threatened, and make no mistake, the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens in Ukraine, to see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked.
“We cannot let that happen,” he continued. “To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, it’s simply unthinkable. Were we to do that, it means we’d be forgetting what happened here on these hallowed beaches.”
“Make no mistake: We will not bow down,” Biden vowed. “We will not forget.”
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