White House walks back Biden’s anti-Putin statement

During a speech in Poland on Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden appeared to call for the removal of Russian President Vladimir Putin from office. “This man cannot remain in power,” Biden said. The U.S. ambassador to NATO later qualified the statements, saying, “The U.S. does not have a policy of regime change towards Russia, but I think what we all agree on is that President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war.”

What came from last week’s NATO meeting in Europe? The United States and its allies pledged more military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it’s not enough. He wants more tanks and fighter jets and accused the West of cowardice compared to the Ukrainian troops defending the besieged city of Mariupol: “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1 percent of their courage.”

Dig deeper: Read WORLD’s ongoing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.