President Biden on Friday met with U.S. troops stationed near the border between Poland and Ukraine, telling them their mission extends beyond Ukraine to defending freedom across the globe.
“You are the organizing principle around which the rest of the free world is moving,” Mr. Biden told the troops. “You are in the midst of a fight between democracies and oligarchs.”
“What you are engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Ukraine,” he said. “What’s at stake is what your kids and grandkids are going to look like in terms of their freedoms.”
Mr. Biden arrived in Poland to meet with troops and discuss their efforts to assist millions of Ukrainians escaping Russia’s brutal attack on their country.
Mr. Biden talked with members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, who are serving alongside Polish troops. The U.S. service members are stationed in Rzeszow, a southeastern Polish city about an hour from the Ukraine border.
“I just want to say, ‘Thanks,’” Mr. Biden told the troops as they were eating lunch in the mess hall. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Thank you very much for all you do,” he said. “It’s not hyperbole to say you are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for what you’ve done.”
Mr. Biden sat down with troops to eat, grabbing a slice of pizza.
Secretary Defense Lloyd Austin accompanied Mr. Biden on the trip.
Ahead of his meeting, Mr. Biden joked around with troops getting their haircut at a barbershop next to the Rzeszow-Jaisonka Airport.
The president walked around the room and greeted each service member individually.
“You guys must have gotten your haircut!” Mr. Biden said, observing their closely-shorn hair. He joked that the barber must not have had to take too much off.
One of the troops jokingly asked Mr. Biden to cut his hair, and the president said that was the last thing service members would want.
Mr. Biden heads to Warsaw for talks Saturday with Polish President Andrzej Duda and others.
He will also meet with Ukrainian refugees in Poland on Saturday and then deliver “a major address” following his meeting with Mr. Duda.
“He will give a major address tomorrow that will speak to the stakes of this moment, the urgency of the challenge that lies ahead, what the conflict in Ukraine means for the world and why it is so important that the free world sustain unity and resolve in the face of Russian aggression,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Roughly 3.6 million Ukrainians and others have fled the country since the Russian invasion began last month. Most of those who fled the country headed to Poland.
It is estimated that the population of Warsaw has grown by about 300,000, putting a strain on the city’s resources.
Mr. Biden on Thursday said the U.S. would welcome 100,000 migrants from Ukraine.
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