Biden speaks in Poland after surprise trip to Ukraine

Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on February 21, 2023

(WARSAW, Poland) — President Joe Biden will address the world on Tuesday from Warsaw, Poland, just days ahead of the one-year mark of Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine.

“His remarks will speak specifically to the conflict in Ukraine, but they will also speak to the larger contest between those aggressors who are trying to destroy fundamental principles and those democracies who are pulling together to try to uphold them,” said national security adviser Jake Sullivan in an earlier call with reporters. “You will hear in this speech vintage Joe Biden. The president has believed passionately in the themes he will discuss tonight for decades.”

Sullivan said there will not be any new proposals to come out of his remarks.

Biden’s speech comes hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Russia’s parliament, announcing the country would stop participating in the New START nuclear arms treaty with the U.S., the last remaining major arms control agreement between the two countries.

Putin said that Russia is not withdrawing from the treaty for now, but is suspending it, saying the war in Ukraine means it is not possible to allow American inspectors to visit Russian nuclear sites as agreed under the treaty.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, reacting to the announcement in Greece, told reporters the decision was “really unfortunate and very irresponsible, but we’ll be watching closely.”

While Putin didn’t mention Biden by name in is speech, it’s unclear if Biden will do the same.

In Warsaw, Biden met earlier with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday to discuss cooperation between Washington and Warsaw to aid Kyiv, particularly over Poland’s role as a key staging ground for military and financial aid flowing to Ukraine. Duda publicly thanked Biden for visiting Ukraine.

Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, marking the first time an American president entered a warzone with no active U.S. military presence, where he saw first-hand some of the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

There, Biden told Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the U.S. would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes.”

Biden first landed in Poland late Sunday, according to reporters traveling with him, then set off for to Ukraine for his roughly five-hour visit with Zelenskyy.

“One year later, Kyiv stands and Ukraine stands. Democracy stands,” Biden said alongside Ukraine’s leader on Monday. “The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you.”

The one-year mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine falls on Friday.