US President Joe Biden has reiterated his “unwavering” support for Ukraine during a visit to Poland, as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Moscow’s role in the New START treaty. The US leader made the statement after meeting with NATO ally and Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is a vocal proponent of stronger Western support for Kyiv.
The announcement followed an unannounced trip by Biden to Ukraine on Monday, marking the first time in recent memory that a US president has visited a warzone not controlled by US troops. Poland has NATO’s longest border with Ukraine and has been the main route in for weapons and out for refugees.
In his state of the nation address before the first anniversary of the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said Moscow was freezing its participation in the New START treaty, a key nuclear arms deal with Washington. Putin accused Western powers of wanting “to be done with us once and for all”, but said increasingly stringent sanctions on Russia “will not succeed”.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the country will still observe curbs imposed by the New START treaty. After Putin’s speech, France and the United Kingdom called on Kremlin to reverse its decision to suspend participation in the treaty. The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) said their countries would continue to impose economic costs on Russia and urged the broader international community to reject what they described as Moscow’s “brutal expansionism”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her support for Ukraine during her first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion. She said that Rome will keep supporting Kyiv in resisting Russian attacks but has no plans to offer fighter jets to Kyiv.
Biden’s trip to Poland and Ukraine has highlighted the US’s commitment to standing with its allies against Russian aggression. The US leader has made it clear that he will not tolerate any attempts by Moscow to undermine international law and order. He has also urged other countries to join him in imposing economic costs on Russia and those who provide political or economic support to its violations of international law.