Biden Tries To Paint Situation In Ukraine As Positive As Russian Military Forces Continue To Advance

Democrat President Joe Biden tried to paint the situation in Ukraine as positive during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night as Russian military forces continue to advance throughout the country.

“Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated,” Biden said. “He 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’s remarks come as critics have blamed Biden for Putin’s invasion into Ukraine, saying that the president’s weakness directly contributed to the crisis.

“Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked,” Biden said. “He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready. Here is what we did. We 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.”

Josh Rogin, a national security expert for The Washington Post, noted that Biden did not talk about his foreign policy when it came to North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, China, and Iran.

No mention of the Afghanistan withdrawal last year in Biden's SOTU speech. It's almost as if the administration doesn't want to talk about the thousands of Afghans we left behind.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) March 2, 2022

Almost no mention of China in Biden's SOTU speech. It's almost if the Biden administration's attention is so focused on the near term crisis it is losing focus on the longer term threat.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) March 2, 2022

No mention of Iran in Biden's SOTU speech. It's almost as if he doesn't want to talk about the deal his administration is working hard to complete.

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) March 2, 2022

Biden later acknowledged the current reality on the ground, saying, “Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.”

“He will never extinguish their love of freedom,” he continued. “He will never weaken the resolve of the free world.”