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WARSAW, Poland — President Joe Biden on Friday traveled to southeastern Poland the place he met with U.S. troops and support employees helping refugees in a rustic on the entrance traces of the humanitarian and army disaster unfolding in Ukraine.
“What you’re engaged in is rather more than simply whether or not or not you’ll be able to alleviate the ache and struggling of the folks in Ukraine. We’re in a brand new section, your era, we’re at an inflection level,” Biden instructed the troops.
Biden spoke with the U.S. troops in Rzeszow who started arriving on the army base there final month as a part of U.S. deterrence efforts in opposition to Russia. The president made small discuss and shook arms with a gaggle of service members, whom he known as the “most interesting preventing drive within the historical past of the world,” at one level sitting down to hitch them for a slice of pizza within the mess corridor.
“You’re the organizing precept round which the remainder of the world, the free world, is shifting,” Biden mentioned. “We’re within the midst of, and I don’t need to sound too philosophic right here, however you’re within the midst of a combat between democracies and oligarchs.”
The troops are primarily based lower than 100 miles from the place Russian missiles struck a Ukrainian army put up this month. The service members have been finishing up coaching workout routines with their Polish and British counterparts, familiarizing themselves with the native terrain and Polish gear.
The White Home has firmly dominated out any chance of sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, however has been bolstering the U.S. troop presence in Europe during the last two months to show Washington’s dedication to defending NATO territory.
Earlier than he returns to Washington on Saturday, Biden will meet with Ukrainian refugees, adopted by a serious tackle on the state of the warfare in Ukraine and the place he sees it heading, nationwide safety adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned Friday.
In a gathering with support employees, Biden mentioned he regretted that he wasn’t in a position to journey to Ukraine to see the state of affairs first hand, seeming to point it would not be protected for him to enter the war-torn nation.
Biden was joined in his assembly with support employees by Polish President Andrzej Duda, who thanked the American chief for his go to and the assistance the U.S. has supplied. However Duda mentioned there may be extra assist Poland wants. Biden and Duda will meet once more Saturday.
“The struggling that’s happening now’s at your step,” Biden mentioned.
Poland has borne the brunt of the refugee disaster, with greater than 2 million Ukrainians having flooded into the nation. Whereas Poland has welcomed the refugees with open arms, permitting them to work, and offering them with well being care and education for kids, the huge inflow in only a month has begun to pressure cities like Warsaw, the place the inhabitants is estimated to have grown by 300,000.
“Poland is among the many prime nations that really feel essentially the most in danger over this ongoing invasion. You had bombs going off not removed from their border,” mentioned Barry Pavel, who was a protection coverage adviser within the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. “This can be a actually, actually vital cease.”
Biden is visiting Poland after a collection of conferences with world leaders Thursday in Brussels, the place he sought to rally different nations to do extra to assist Ukraine and punish Russia.
Earlier than departing Belgium, Biden famous how Putin has used Russia’s power assets to “coerce” its neighbors, and introduced measures — alongside European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen — to scale back Europe’s dependency on Russian power.
“I do know that eliminating Russian gasoline may have prices for Europe. But it surely’s not solely the precise factor to do from an ethical standpoint, it’s going to place us on a a lot stronger strategic footing,” he mentioned earlier than heading to Poland.
On Saturday, Biden additionally plans to ship an tackle in regards to the want for sustained unity and resolve within the face of the Russian aggression, Sullivan mentioned.
The White Home introduced it could permit as many as 100,000 Ukrainians to enter the U.S., with a concentrate on those that are most weak. The administration additionally plans to allocate greater than $1 billion towards humanitarian help and $11 billion over the following 5 years to deal with worldwide meals safety threats after the disruptions to the Russian and Ukrainian agricultural industries.
The U.S. has supplied $123 million to assist the nations bordering Ukraine take care of the disaster, together with $48 million to Poland, with U.S. officers working to arrange packages that present refugees with non permanent help for meals, lodging and medical care, together with authorized support and psychological well being assist, the White Home mentioned.
The White Home on Thursday introduced a bundle of recent sanctions in opposition to Russia that might apply to greater than 400 Russians and Russian entities, together with the Duma and greater than 300 of its members and greater than 40 protection firms.
It additionally mentioned it could take further steps to forestall Russia from attempting to prop up its financial system, reminiscent of making it clear that any transactions involving gold associated to banks there are prohibited, and calling on firms to now not conduct their actions with Russia in a business-as-usual method.
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