The US president, Joe Biden, has avoided responding in his long-awaited speech in Warsaw to the announcement hours before by Russian President Vladimir Putin of the suspension of the last nuclear disarmament agreement in force between Washington and Moscow, a decision that adds tension to the one that already exists among the great powers because of the war in Ukraine.

In an open-air intervention, in front of a sea of ??Polish, Ukrainian and American flags, Biden has assured – yes – that the West does not want to destroy Russia. “The United States and the nations of Europe do not seek to control or destroy Russia. The West does not plan to attack Russia,” Biden said after Putin said in his state of the nation address to both houses of Parliament that the West wanted to kill off Russia. Always with Russia.

The US president, greeted like a rock star, lashed out at Putin, praising the courage of the Ukrainians, the solidarity of Poland and the unity between the allies. “Ukraine will never be a victim of Russia. Never!” the president told thousands of people in the gardens of the former royal castle in Warsaw.

“Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no. You won’t take my country, you won’t take my freedom, you won’t take my future,” Biden said.

His words are reminiscent of those of his last speech, a year ago, in Poland and on the same stage, next to the royal castle. Then, on March 27, 2022, when the invasion of Russia had already been completed, Biden accused Putin of wanting to go back to the 19th century. And to finish off a particularly harsh intervention, he stated that “this man could not remain in power.” That statement hinted that the United States was calling for a regime change in Russia, but the White House immediately jumped in to qualify some words that were received with astonishment, and not only in the Kremlin.

A year later, with the war at a standstill and with no signs that Putin is willing to give in, Biden’s attacks on Putin, whom he has even called a “butcher” and a “war criminal” are part of the norm, although in the capitals European countries, the desire for regime change is verbalized in a different way.

Biden arrived in Warsaw last night to mark the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine after a surprise visit to kyiv loaded with symbolism. It was also the first time that a US president has traveled to a country at war where there are no US troops.

In his speech, described in advance as “historic”, like the one delivered in Warsaw last March, Biden placed the war in Ukraine in a broader context, about defending the international liberal order, created after the Second World War. In this sense, he defended the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, democracy and freedom that are part of that concept of the world. But without forgetting the unity of NATO, the commitment to Ukraine and to the defense of the countries on the eastern flank of the Alliance.

The president began his agenda in Warsaw just a few hours after the speech on the state of the nation that Putin delivered before both houses of Parliament, and will extend it until tomorrow, when he plans to meet with the so-called Group 9, formed precisely by the countries of the former Warsaw Pact that has become part of NATO.

Prior to his speech, Biden visited the US troops stationed in Poland and met with the president, Andrzej Duda, and members of his government at the presidential palace in Warsaw.

At that meeting, Duda stated that the United States needs Poland and NATO as much as Poland and NATO need the United States. The Polish president applauded Biden’s visit to Kiev, an “extraordinary gesture” that has “boosted the morale” of Ukrainians, noting that Poland continues to regard the United States as a key element in the “global order.”

“Poland is safe thanks to the presence of US troops, thanks to the presence of troops from NATO countries, thanks to our efforts to ensure Poland’s security,” Duda said.

The United States increased its presence in Poland before the Russian invasion nearly a year ago, and there are currently about 11,000 troops in the country, though they are rotating on a rotating basis.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project