‘Putin was wrong. We were ready’: Biden will condemn Russian leader in address

In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden plans to call out his Russian counterpart’s miscalculations in waging war on Ukraine.

Biden will say on Tuesday night that President Vladimir Putin’s attack was “premeditated and unprovoked,” after the Russian leader rejected the West’s multiple attempts to find a diplomatic solution.

“He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home,” the president will say before the joint session of Congress, according to excerpts of Biden’s address released by the White House. “Putin was wrong. We were ready.”

The president’s address — what could have been an opportunity to turbocharge his stalled domestic agenda — comes as he faces the most consequential foreign policy crisis of his young presidency. His first state of the Union speech has been rewritten multiple times up until Tuesday, POLITICO reported, as Moscow continues to escalate and Russian forces move in on Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.

The president will talk about the purpose of NATO and its role in securing European security post-World War II. He will lean into the importance of American diplomacy in this moment.

“Throughout our history we’ve learned this lesson — when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. They keep moving,” the prepared remarks say. “And, the costs and threats to America and the world keep rising.”