US President Joe Biden in his first State of The Union Address on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin over invasion of Ukraine.
He called the Russian attack on Ukraine "premeditated and unprovoked" and slammed Putin for "repeatedly rejecting" attempts to resolve the crisis. Listing a flurry of sanctions on Russia, Biden said that US and its allies have resolved to choke Moscow's economy.
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While Biden announced a billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, he ruled out sending American forces to fight Russia on ground. Here are the highlights from Biden's address:
- US President Joe Biden brands Russia's Vladimir Putin a "dictator" during his State of the Union address.
- "A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world. In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment"
- "We, the United States of America, stand with the Ukrainian people."
- "Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks but he'll never gain the hearts & souls of the Ukrainian people, and he will never weaken the resolve of the free world"
- "We will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights"
- Biden tells Russian oligarchs West will 'seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets'
- "The US & our allies will defend every inch of NATO territory with full force of our collective power. Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. Putin may gain makes gains on the battlefield but he'll have to continue to pay a high price over the long run"
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