President Joe Biden was in Warsaw, meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The two NATO allies reaffirmed their solidarity in the face of Russian aggression. Biden met with Duda on Saturday during a historic visit in which the allies presented a united front against aggression.
The United States regards its commitment to defend other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members as a “sacred obligation,” Biden told Duda during a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.
When Biden met with Ukrainian refugees, the children requested that he pray for a father, grandfather, or brother, who was still fighting for their country. Before departing for the United States, the president will deliver remarks that the White House is billing as a major speech.
Russia’s military objectives in Ukraine have been hazy since it launched its invasion more than a month ago, and new statements indicate that Moscow may consider declaring victory without completely overthrowing the Ukrainian government or capturing Kyiv.
Western analysts and leaders were skeptical of Friday’s statements, in which the deputy chief of the Russian general staff claimed that his forces had largely achieved the “main objectives” of the conflict’s first phase. The Ukrainian military’s power has been “considerably reduced,” allowing troops to focus on achieving the liberation of Donbas, according to Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi.
According to Stephen Biddle, a Columbia University professor of international and public affairs who has studied US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, the implications of the statement are difficult to determine. Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that it is too soon to decipher whether the Russians’ approach has changed.
However, one thing is clear: Russian forces’ progress has largely stalled in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance, reports say. Though battered, Kyiv still remains under Ukrainian government control.
Meanwhile, a Russia expert and retired US general has reportedly said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will likely be forced to call a halt to his month-long war against Ukraine, a scenario that could happen within weeks after Russian forces have suffered heavy losses and subjected Ukraine’s cities to attacks.
Retired US Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan believes that Putin has been unsuccessful in accomplishing his “main military goals” in Ukraine – a lightning strike to seize Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, and other major cities and depose their elected leaders – and Russia’s economy has been decimated by Western sanctions related to its war with the Eastern European country.
Meanwhile, he also stated that an end to the war may not “necessarily mean a halt in violence.”
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