Joe Biden’s statement in the Ukraine conflict shocks Kiev

Dhe American President Joe Biden After the irritation about statements on the Ukraine crisis, made it clear that any incursion by Russian troops into the neighboring country would be counted as an invasion. “If any of the assembled Russian units cross the border into Ukraine, that’s an invasion,” Biden said Thursday at the White House. This would result in a “serious and coordinated response” from the West.

He has this position towards the Russian President Wladimir Putin made “absolutely clear,” Biden said. “If Putin makes this decision, he will pay a heavy price.”

Opposition: Biden gives Putin green light to invade

Answering questions from reporters at a White House press conference on Wednesday marking his first year in office, Biden indicated that the threat of NATO sanctions could depend on the extent of a potential Russian invasion. “It’s one thing when it’s a minor intrusion,” Biden said. “But if they actually do what they are able to do with the forces gathered at the border, it will be catastrophic for Russia.”

The reactions followed promptly. CNN quoted an unnamed Ukrainian official as saying he was “shocked that President Biden distinguished between intrusion and invasion.” Give it to the Russian President Putin “green light to invade Ukraine at will”. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he was “stunned” by Biden’s statement.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the debate on Thursday, writing on Twitter that there is “no such thing as a “minor intrusion” into another country, nor are there less important nations, or just “a little heartache” when you lose loved ones . He says that “as the president of a great nation,” Zelenskyj wrote.

Biden has now said that the West must be prepared for other “scenarios” in addition to an impending Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Russia has a long history of using means other than overt military operations for aggression,” he said.

Among other things, Biden spoke of “paramilitary tactics”, the use of Russian soldiers who were not wearing Russian uniforms, and cyber attacks. “We have to be prepared to respond to that with the means at our disposal in a decisive and unified manner,” said Biden. Because of a massive Russian troop deployment on the border with Ukraine, the West fears that Russia is preparing to invade the neighboring country.

“Year of Challenges”

In the press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration on Wednesday, Biden also defended his government record against criticism. “It has been a challenging year, but also a year of tremendous progress,” he said. “Records” have been achieved in terms of economic growth and the creation of jobs.

At the same time, Biden acknowledged that there was “a lot of frustration and fatigue” in the United States. This is on the corona pandemic and most recently the rapid spread of the omicron variant. However, the country now has “instruments” to fight the corona virus: “vaccines, boosters, masks, tests, pills.” At the same time, the President vowed to decisively counter the high inflation in the country. The inflation rate had recently risen to seven percent, the highest level in almost 40 years.

Negative headlines piled up

The Democrat succeeded the president-elect on Jan. 20, 2021 donald trump entered the White House. After initial successes, for example in the fight against the corona pandemic, the negative headlines increased for the 79-year-old, among other things because of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, a resurgence in corona infections and high inflation. In addition, central reform projects, for example in social policy and climate protection, have not made any progress for months. Biden’s approval ratings plummeted as a result. In the survey average, only 42 percent of voters approve of his work.

On Wednesday, the President blamed the opposition Republicans for blocking his reform plans. He “didn’t expect” that the “most important thing” for the Republicans was to hinder him in the implementation of his projects, said Biden. However, central reform projects have so far failed due to opposition from the Democrats within the party.

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As expected, Republicans blocked a Senate electoral law reform pushed by Biden on Wednesday evening. Biden’s Democrats failed because of a more than 100-year-old regulation, the so-called filibuster. The rule states that for many bills, 60 of the 100 senators must agree to an end to the debate before there can be a vote at all.

One of the aims of the electoral law reform was to make it easier to vote in elections. It is one of Biden’s most important projects. The Democrats accuse former President Donald Trump’s Republicans of wanting to make voting more difficult, to the detriment of minorities in particular. Before the vote, Biden made it clear that he would not give up on reform plans. He said: “We haven’t run out of options yet.”

After the Republican blockade, the Democrats wanted to try to get an exception to the filibuster rule for this reform. Because of dissenters in their own ranks, a failure of this project was also expected. The Democrats have a razor-thin majority in the Senate. They control 50 seats, so exactly half. In the event of a stalemate, Biden’s vice president decides Kamala Harris, who is also ex officio President of the Senate.

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