Visit of US President Biden in Poland wraps up

By Stefan Bos

Biden visited the Polish border town of Rzeszow, where he praised the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division for helping to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine from spreading to neighboring nations such as Poland. “What you’re engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine,” he said. 

“We’re in a new phase — your generation.  We’re at an inflection point.  About every four or five generations, there comes along a change — a fundamental change takes place.  The world ain’t going to be the same — not because of Ukraine, but — not going to be the same 10, 15 years from now in terms of our organizational structures,” Biden told the troops. 

“So the question is: Who is going to prevail?  Are democracies going to prevail on the — and the values we share?  Or are autocracies going to prevail?  And that’s really what’s at stake,” Biden added. 

Ukrainian refugees

Biden is in Poland as the country struggles to accommodate more than half of the 3.5 million people who have fled Ukraine, where fighting is escalating. 

After summits in Brussels, Biden announced the U.S. would welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide an additional $1 billion in food, medicine, water, and other supplies.

He also reiterated $1 billion in new security assistance to Ukraine — anti-aircraft systems, anti-armor weapons, drones, and millions of rounds of ammunition.

But Biden and other Western leaders deny Ukraine’s requests to send it Soviet-era jet fighters, impose a no-fly zone against Russian aircraft over Ukraine, and speed the flow of more heavy weaponry. 

That has led to frustration in Kyiv though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his nation inflicted "powerful blows" and "significant losses" on the Russian military. 

Several Russian generals and other high-ranking officials have reportedly been killed or wounded, including at least one by his forces near Kyiv after half of them had died in battle. Yet Ukrainians suffer too amid relentless shelling in several cities, including Mariupol, where authorities claim 300 people died in a recent Russian airstrike on a theater.