WARSAW, Poland — President Joe Biden on Saturday called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a butcher” in response to a question after meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland, The New York Times reported.
It was the strongest language to date used by the president, who previously has called Putin president “a war criminal” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month.
Biden visited some of Ukraine’s 2 million refugees who have fled to Poland, The Washington Post reported.
One woman Biden spoke with said she was in Warsaw with her daughter, but her husband and son were in Ukraine fighting, CNN reported.
“It’s frightening,” Biden told her.
Earlier on Saturday, Biden met with Polish President Andrzej Duda and said the U.S. is treating its duty to defend its NATO allies as “a sacred obligation,” the Times reported.
Biden was citing NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members.
“America’s ability to meet its role in other parts of the world rests upon a united Europe,” Biden told Duda at Poland’s presidential palace.
Biden stopped into a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who were holding talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CNN reported.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by video to the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday, urging oil and natural gas exporters to “stabilize the situation in Europe” by increasing production, the Post reported.
The meeting between Biden and Duda came as the president prepared to deliver what White House officials said would be a “major speech” on Saturday evening, the Times reported. The speech is expected to focus on the need for the world to remain united to confront Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
More coverage:
- Vladimir Putin: Who is Russia’s president?
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Who is Ukraine’s president?
- What does the Russian invasion of Ukraine mean for America’s economy?
- Russia attacks Ukraine: How to donate to people in Ukraine
- 6 things to know about Ukraine
- Why did Russia fight for control of Chernobyl, the site of a nuclear disaster?
- How to talk to children about the conflict in Ukraine
- Ukraine invasion: What sanctions are being imposed on Russia?
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