New Delhi: Joe Biden has accused Vladimir Putin of trying to “wipe out” Ukraine’s culture but suggested the plan had at least partially backfired by spurring the expansion of Nato in Europe.
The US president told 1,200 graduating cadets in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday: “Not only is he trying to take over Ukraine, but he’s also literally trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people. Attacking schools, nurseries, hospitals, museums, with no other purpose than to eliminate a culture.”
The Russian president tried to “Finland-ize” Europe, Biden said, but “instead he Nato-ized all of Europe”, a reference to neutral nations Finland and Sweden’s plans to join the alliance.
On the ground, in the besieged eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, the situation appeared bleak, with Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, saying Ukrainian forces may need to retreat after Russian troops entered the city, the largest in Donbas still held by Ukraine.
“The Russians will not be able to capture the Luhansk region in the coming days as analysts have predicted,” Haidai said on Telegram, referring to Sievierodonetsk and its twin city Lysychansk across the Siverskiy Donets river. “We will have enough strength and resources to defend ourselves. However, it is possible that in order not to be surrounded we will have to retreat.”
(Vinayak)