Full video of the speech as published by the White House | |
| Date | March 26, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Time | 18:16 CET (17:16 UTC) |
| Duration | 27 minutes |
| Venue | In the courtyard of the Royal Castle |
| Location | Warsaw, Poland |
| Coordinates | 52°14′52″N 21°00′51″E / 52.2477°N 21.0141°E |
| Type | Speech and rally |
| Cause | 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
On March 26, 2022, roughly a month after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. president Joe Biden delivered a public speech in the courtyard of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland.
During the speech, Biden framed the military struggle in Ukraine as a fight between autocracy and democracy, and confirmed that under NATO's Article 5, the troops of NATO have "a sacred obligation ... to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power". He also praised the "brave and stiff Ukrainian resistance" and "the generosity of ... the Polish people", while making it clear that "the Russian people ... are not our enemy".[1][2]
Near the end of his speech, Biden referred to Russian president Vladimir Putin when he said, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power."[1][2] A number of world leaders expressed disapproval over this statement. The Biden administration later stated that these words had not been part of the prepared speech, and that the administration was not proposing a regime change. This remark overshadowed the rest of Biden's speech.
About 11 months later, Biden returned to Warsaw to deliver another speech, in which he reiterated that the current conflict was a fight between democracy and autocracy, and reaffirmed NATO's commitment to Article 5.