During a visit to Rzeszów, Poland Friday afternoon, President Joe Biden told members of the 82nd Airborne Division they would soon see the destruction inflicted on Ukraine by Russia -- first hand.
"You know, with the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian people have a lot of backbone. They have a lot of guts. And I'm sure you're observing it. And I don't mean just their military, which is, we've been training since back when they, Russia moved into the, in the southeast, southeast Ukraine, but also the average citizen. Look at how they're stepping up. Look at how they're stepping up," Biden said. "And you're going to see when you're there. And you, some, some of you have been there. You're going to see, you're going to see women, young people standing, standing the middle of, in front of a damn tank, just saying, 'I'm not leaving. I'm holding my ground.'”
Up until now, Biden has been adamant that while U.S. troops will defend "every inch of NATO," they will not be deployed to Ukraine.
"Our forces are not and will not be engaged in a conflict with Russia in Ukraine," Biden said at the Whit House in February. “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO allies and reassure those allies in the East.”
During a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels Thursday, Biden also implied he would visit Ukraine during his trip. Today, he clarified.
President Biden indicates the security threat related to his travel "they will not let me" cross the border to see the situation first hand in Ukraine. Today he is about fifty miles from the border.
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) March 25, 2022