Biden says he was NOT allowed to cross the border into Ukraine, refers to the invasion as ‘Tiananmen Square squared’ and talks about women standing in front of Russian tanks alongside Polish President Duda
- The president spoke about some of the carnage in Ukraine
- He was briefed in eastern Poland about humanitarian efforts
- He said he had seen images of devastation ‘out of a science fiction movie’
- He also lauded bravery of Ukrainians standing up to Russian tanks
- Biden said he was disappointed he ‘can’t see it firsthand’
- He said unidentified people would not let him cross the border
- He landed in Poland under guard of mobile air defense systems and helos
- On Saturday he meets with refugees
- He was jointed by Polish President Duda
- Biden reached across to grab Duda’s hand after Biden coughed
- He blamed it on a pizza pie with peppers he enjoyed with U.S. troops
President Joe Biden reached for new words and analogies during his visit to Poland to find ways to try to describe the horrors Ukrainians are facing Thursday – comparing blown out landscapes to something ‘out of a science fiction movie.’
After landing in Rzeszow near the Ukrainian border, Biden also spoke to the bravery of Ukrainian citizens rising up to try to counter the Russian invasion,’ comparing them to protesters who resisted a Chinese government crackdown.
At an event where he was briefed on efforts to coordinate the humanitarian response, Biden spoke of the ‘courage and passion for resilience of the Ukrainian people.’
‘When you see a 30-year old woman standing there in front of a tank with a rifle. I mean, talk about what happened in Tiananmen Square? This is Tiananmen Square, squared,’ Biden said.
He was referencing the iconic 1989 image where a lone man stood in front of a tank to try to stop the government crackdown.
There have been similar scenes in Ukraine, where ordinary citizens used their bodies and and personal appeals to try to stop Russian armor – even as Ukrainian troops take a toll of their by blowing up Russian equipment with arms provided by the U.S. and allies.
‘It’s like something out of a science fiction movie’: President Joe Biden described some of the horrific images emerging from Ukraine
The president cited UN figures saying 12 million Ukrainians need assistance, with thousands of civilian casualties since the invasion a month ago.
‘Hundreds of thousands of people are being cut off from health by Russian forces and are being besieged in places like Mariupol. I mean, it’s not stopping. It’s like something out of a science fiction movie. Turn on the television and see what these towns look like, and cities,’ he said.
He spoke on a day when new video emerged of the destruction inside a theater in Mariupol, where Ukrainian authorities said 300 people had died in the Russian attack. Images after the building was struck show Ukrainian women and children covered in dust trying to leave the once stately building.
Biden also spoke Friday to members of the storied 182nd Airborne Division – lauding troops for both assisting in relief and helping protect NATO’s eastern flank amid. The administration says officials are preparing for ‘contingencies’ should Russia try attack NATO territory to try to stop efforts to arm the Ukrainians.
Biden alluded to his many past trips to war zones, some during his decades as a senator.
The war has brought devastation on Kiev and other cities. Firefighters work at a factory destroyed after it was hit by Russian shelling in Chaiky district of Kyiv, Ukraine on 24 March, 2022
Black smoke rises from a fuel storage of the Ukrainian army following a Russian attack, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 25, 2022
In this satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC, the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater, center left, that had been sheltering those fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine is seen in ruins in Mariupol, Ukraine, Monday, March 21, 2022
Biden was joined by Polish President Andrzej Duda, at one point reaching along a table to grab his hand and explain that a ‘pizza pie’ with hot peppers was making him cough
The president referenced Ukrainian citizens who confronted Russian tanks
Ukrainians have been trying to block tanks with small arms or with just their bodies
He called it ‘Tiananmen Square squared’
The war has brought images reminiscent of World War II
Samantha Power, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) speaks at a briefing on humanitarian efforts for Ukraine, flanked by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Biden described the suffering of the Ukrainian people and the bravery of people resisting the Russian invasion. He said as he began his trip to Poland he wishes he could have visited the other side of the border
‘Quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places. They will not let me understandably I guess cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,’ he said.
Biden does plan to meet with Ukrainian refugees here in Warsaw on Friday.
Biden was joined by Polish President Andrzej Duda, at one point reaching along a table to grab his hand and explain that a ‘pizza pie’ with hot peppers was making him cough.
Duda, who suffered an apparent aircraft mishap earlier in the day, thanked U.S. troops for providing security and U.S.-based NGOs who were aiding relief efforts. He called the estimated 2 million Ukrainian refugees in his country ‘guests.’
Of U.S. troops, he said: ‘They are guarding the security of the Polish border and guarding the security also of the entire European community.
In images from the start of the invasion, Ukrainians were filmed blocking Russian armor while screaming ‘invaders, killers’ and ordering them to stop. One video showed a group of fearless Ukrainians leaping on a Russian military vehicle while waving blue and yellow flags.
A second piece of footage from Kupiansk, near Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv, appears to show at least 30 Ukrainians running and jumping on a Russian armoured vehicle – with one man attempting to smash in the windscreen
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