President Joe Biden Tells U.S. Soldiers What They’re “Gonna See” In Ukraine – Is President Joe Biden preparing to send U.S. troops to Ukraine? Going by what he told the United States 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army in Poland on Friday, he could be at least thinking through the concept on some level.
“You’re going to see when you’re there, you’re going to see women, young people standing in the middle, in the front of a damn tank saying ‘I’m not leaving,’” the president told soldiers after dining with soldiers at a mess hall located in Rzeszow in southwestern Poland.
A video of the president’s comments quickly went viral, with social media users asking whether the president was planning to send troops to Ukraine – a decision that would effectively mean the beginning of a Third World War.
A White House official attempted to walk back the president’s comments, however, insisting that the president has not changed his stance on deploying American troops to Ukraine.
“The president has been clear we are not sending US troops to Ukraine and there is no change in that position,” the spokesman told the New York Post.
The president used his time with the troops to focus on how the United States can alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine, and reiterate the importance of the measures he has taken to aid Ukrainian soldiers in their fight against invading Russian troops.
“What you’re engaged in is much more than just whether or not you can alleviate the pain and suffering of the people in Ukraine. We’re in a new phase, your generation, we’re at an inflection point,” the president said.
Biden Arrives in Poland
President Joe Biden arrived in Poland today after meeting with NATO, G7, and EU representatives in Brussels yesterday. The president met with U.S. troops before heading to a meeting with aid workers who are directly assisting Ukrainian refugees, most of whom crossed the border and arrived in the country.
While millions of refugees remain in Poland, many have also moved on to other neighboring countries.
On Friday evening, President Joe Biden arrived in the Polish capital city of Warsaw where he is expected to begin discussions with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The U.S. troops in Rzeszow are just 100 miles away from the site of a Russian missile strike at a Ukrainian military post earlier this month. During the invasion of Ukraine, the 82nd Division has been carrying out training exercises with British and Polish troops, becoming familiar with the local area, and learning how to use Polish equipment.
While the White House insists that the president has not changed his tune on sending U.S. troops to Ukraine, soldiers in neighboring countries appear to be preparing for that worst-case scenario.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.