The US president urged Republicans to unblock military aid to Kiev in his State of the Union address
US President Joe Biden delivers a State of the Union address to Congress on March 7, 2024. © Win McNamee / Getty Images
The US will not stop supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address on Thursday night.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hell-bent on “sowing chaos around Europe,” Biden claimed.
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop in Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” Biden told Congress. He went on to renew his appeal to House Republicans to stop blocking additional military aid to Kiev.
“Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself,” he said.
“My message to President Putin – who I’ve known for a long time – is simple: We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”
Addressing legislators and foreign dignitaries at the US Capitol, Biden reiterated that his administration has no plans to send American troops to directly fight Russia.
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“[The Ukrianians] are not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers in the war in Ukraine and I’m determined to keep it that way,” he stressed.
The GOP has been refusing to pass Biden’s $61 billion aid package for Ukraine, while hoping to pressure the White House into a crackdown on illegal migration.
Russia has repeatedly cited NATO’s continuing expansion eastward and the US-led bloc’s cooperation with Kiev as one of the key causes of the current conflict.
In an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson last month, Putin said Russia has no intention of attacking NATO members unless it is forced to act in self-defense. Putin further argued that Western countries have been “falsely” portraying Russia as a threat to stoke fear.
