WARSAW - US President Joe Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “butcher” after visiting with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday.
Asked by reporters traveling with the President what seeing the refugees made him think as he deals with Putin every day, Biden responded, “he’s a butcher.”
During the brief question-and-answer session at Stadion Narodowy, Biden recounted how he had been to places like this in his life, but said he is always surprised by “the depth and strength of the human spirit.” “It’s incredible, it’s incredible. See all those little children. Just want to hug, just want to say thanks. I mean, it’s, just makes you so damn proud,” he said.
He added: “Each one of those children said something to the effect, ‘Say a prayer for my dad or my grandfather or my brother who’s back there fighting.’ And I remember what it’s like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder. And you pray you don’t get that phone call.”
Kremlin’s reaction: The Kremlin responded to Biden’s comments in Warsaw, saying his remarks “narrow the window of opportunity” to repair US-Russia relations, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS that “the leader of a nation must keep a sober head.” “Of course, every time these personal insults narrow the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current US administration. One has to be aware of this,” Peskov said, according to TASS.
| Biden tells he is always surprised by “the depth and strength of the human spirit”
Asked by reporters traveling with the President what seeing the refugees made him think as he deals with Putin every day, Biden responded, “he’s a butcher.”
During the brief question-and-answer session at Stadion Narodowy, Biden recounted how he had been to places like this in his life, but said he is always surprised by “the depth and strength of the human spirit.” “It’s incredible, it’s incredible. See all those little children. Just want to hug, just want to say thanks. I mean, it’s, just makes you so damn proud,” he said.
He added: “Each one of those children said something to the effect, ‘Say a prayer for my dad or my grandfather or my brother who’s back there fighting.’ And I remember what it’s like when you have someone in a war zone. Every morning you get up and you wonder. You just wonder. And you pray you don’t get that phone call.”
Kremlin’s reaction: The Kremlin responded to Biden’s comments in Warsaw, saying his remarks “narrow the window of opportunity” to repair US-Russia relations, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told TASS that “the leader of a nation must keep a sober head.” “Of course, every time these personal insults narrow the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current US administration. One has to be aware of this,” Peskov said, according to TASS.
| Biden tells he is always surprised by “the depth and strength of the human spirit”
