Biden says Putin 'Natoized all of Europe' as 'brutal' invasion of Ukraine enters day 94

Russian President Vladimir Putin inadvertently “NATOized” all of Europe” after Sweden and Finland moved to seek alliance membership following the Moscow-Kyiv war, said US President Joe Biden on Friday. During a commencement speech to the US Naval academy’s graduating class on Friday, the US President accused his Russian counterpart of “trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people”. Biden went on to criticise Russia’s attack on hospitals, schools and other civilian buildings in Ukraine. 

Biden also informed that before he departed Asia for his maiden trip, he received a call from the Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö asking if they could "come and see me [US President] in the Oval". Biden said, “They came to ask me whether I would support them joining NATO.  The actions taken by Putin were an attempt to — to use my phrase — to “Findalize” all of Europe — make it all neutral.  Instead, he “NATOized” all of Europe.

“And Putin’s brutal, brutal war in Ukraine: Not only is he trying to take over Ukraine, he’s literally trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people, attacking schools, nurseries, hospitals, museums with no other purpose than to eliminate a culture.  A direct assault on the fundamental tenets of rule-based international order,” he also said.

‘Putin’s brutal assault on Ukraine spurred global response’: Biden

The US President declared “things are changing” while noting that Putin's “brutal assault on Ukraine has spurred a truly global response” not just from Europe but also from Japan, Korea, Singapore, New Zealand and more standing with the United States to sanction Russia. Biden went on to recall, “Australia, sending military aid. Germany, for the first time, significantly upping their budget. Fiji, assisting the FBI in seizing the yacht of an oligarch.”

“We’re seeing the world align not in terms of geography — East and West, Pacific and Atlantic — but in terms of values,” the US President stated.

Biden addressed the Naval Academy’s Class of 2022 Graduation and Commissioning Ceremony on May 27 after concluding his maiden trip to Asia for five days. As the Biden administration renewed its focus on the continent, the US President's visit frayed in the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war which started in late February. The US leader met South Korea’s newly-elected President Yoon Suk-yeol and ensured the new government of Washington’s continued support for Seoul.   

(Image: AP)