The United States and its allies will not be intimidated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats, said President Joe Biden on Friday, following Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
“He is not going to scare or intimidate us,” Biden said during his White House address on Hurricane Ian.
Biden said Putin’s actions show he is struggling, and he slammed the “sham” referendums in Ukraine, saying the US “will never recognise this, and quite frankly, the world will never recognise this either.”
“He can’t just seize his neighbor’s territory and walk away,” he said.
Putin earlier announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – in violation of international law, following highly contested referendums denounced as a “cynical land grab” by the West and its allies.
The territories cover more than 90,000 square kilometres (34,749 square miles), accounting for nearly 15% of Ukraine’s total land area.
Biden stated that the Russians will stick to their guns, but the US will continue to supply military equipment so that Ukraine can defend itself and its territory.
“America, along with our NATO allies, is fully prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory… So, Mr. Putin, please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. Every square inch, “President Trump went on to say.