U.S. President Joe Biden used his first State of the Union address to label Vladimir Putin a “dictator,” and said the Russian president would pay a high price for his invasion of Ukraine.
Russia said it would press forward, as the war enters a more brutal stage. In the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, the mayor said residential areas were being bombed, while China’s foreign minister told his Ukrainian counterpart in a call that Beijing is “extremely concerned” about the harm to civilians.
Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the escalation of attacks as a United Nations agency reported more than 100 civilians had died, and said the actual number of casualties could be much higher. Putin responded to sanctions by banning Russian residents from transferring hard currency abroad. The U.K. announced new sanctions on Russia as well as Belarus, while several major companies either halted operations in Russia or said they would do so soon.
Biden says Putin ‘Badly miscalculated’
Putin “badly miscalculated” with his invasion of Ukraine, Biden said in his State of the Union address, calling the Russian leader a “dictator” and warning the war will leave his country weaker.
In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, Biden asked the audience for his speech to stand. Many lawmakers and guests held Ukrainian flags.
“He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people,” Biden said.
Ready to act on oil prices
Biden said the government stands “ready to do more if necessary” to address soaring oil prices amid the war, as he touted previous action to unleash oil from the nation’s emergency reserve.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. and other major economies agreed to a coordinated release of their oil stockpiles after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed crude above $100 a barrel.-Bloomberg
Source: The Print
