Amid the difficult military situation in Ukraine, President Joe Biden delivered a speech to Congress on the “State of the Union”.

“Six days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to shake the foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it submit to his threatening methods,” he said.

“But he was very mistaken.”

Biden described the Ukrainian people as “a wall of power that [Putin] never imagined.”

He praised his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Ukrainian citizens for "their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, [which] inspires the world”.

Biden asked the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, who is in the hall, to get up and be greeted by those present.

“Let each of us send an unequivocal signal to Ukraine and the world tonight in this Chamber,” he said.

“The invasion of a Russian dictator in a foreign country is costing the whole world,” Biden told Congress.

But “in the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are on their feet and the world is clearly choosing a country of peace and security,” he said.

The world has “isolated” Vladimir Putin for sending Russian troops to invade Ukraine, the US president said, vowing that devastating sanctions would “drain” Russia's economic power and weaken its military.

“Putin is now more isolated from the world than he ever was,” Biden told members of Congress, adding that “he has no idea what awaits him” in terms of economic sanctions and penalties.

The US president also warned Russian oligarchs and “corrupt leaders” who he said had stolen billions of dollars during the Putin regime: “We are coming for your ill-gotten gains.”

Biden reiterated that US forces “will not take part in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine.”

The United States will release 30 million barrels of oil from its strategic oil reserves as part of international efforts to stabilize the market following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the president said.

“I can say that the United States is working with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. America will lead this effort by releasing 30 million barrels from its reserves.” Biden told members of Congress in his first speech on the State of the Union, adding that Washington was “ready to do more if necessary.”

With prices rising at an unprecedented rate for four decades, the US president has called the fight against the inflation wave his “top priority” and promised to free US supply chains from foreign dependence.

“Too many families are struggling to pay their bills,” he said. “That's why my top priority is to control prices,” while encouraging companies to “produce in America” ​​and reduce costs that have increased due to disruptions in global supply chains.

The right of women to abortion in the United States has been “attacked like never before,” the US president said, addressing one of the country's most controversial issues recently. According to him, strengthening freedom and justice “requires the protection of women's rights”. “If we want to move forward - not backward - we must protect access to healthcare and preserve women's right to choose,” Biden said.

/BGNES

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