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Russian leader says war is about Russia’s right to exist, as US president describes it as a battle for freedom, in vastly different speeches.
In their speeches, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin could not have been further apart in their interpretations of the past year, its culprits, causes, and consequence. But in one aspect they were agreed: this is a war intended to remain on the territory of Ukraine, but is being elevated into something far wider – a battle of survival between the west and Russia. Both men also implicitly tied their own futures to the outcome of this war, saying their opponent was bound to lose.
While both men avoided setting out the specifics of what victory would constitute, or how the battle was faring on the frontlines, Putin said the war was about Russia’s right to exist, and Biden said it was a battle for freedom, a word he ultimately chose more often in his speech than democracy.
But Biden, by going second, at least had the chance to rebut Putin’s absurd claim that the war had been started by the west. He said the west had never been plotting to attack Russia. “This was a war of choice, not necessity”, started by one man, he said.
The White House was not averse to a bit of war time glitz. Biden jumped on stage to Freedom by the Norwegian DJ Kygo and left to Coldplay’s Sky Full of Stars.
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Bonus clips from Putin and Biden:
"President Putin said, See what they do with their own peoples – the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, mockery of children, and pedophilia are declared the norm. The norm of their life."#StandWithRussia🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/hWgnoV455u
— FriendOfRussia (@NoMoreNATO) February 21, 2023
This clip is of Joe Biden a few minutes ago. This is the behavior of a sad man with full-blown dementia.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 8, 2023
Anyone who says otherwise is a craven liar complicit in elder abuse. pic.twitter.com/SRdWWRQ1sF