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Remarks: Joe Biden Provides an Update on the Ukraine-Russia Situation - February 22, 2022

  • Joe Biden
    Person

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:00:00-00:00:03 (3 sec)
"Trying to make up your mind, huh? [Laughter]" 1

Joe Biden

Positive
00:00:03-00:00:20 (17 sec)
"Well, good afternoon. Yesterday, Vladimir Putin recognized two regions of Ukraine as independent states and he bizarrely asserted that these regions are no longer part of Ukraine and their sovereign territory. To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine." 2

Joe Biden

Leans Positive
00:00:20-00:00:38 (18 sec)
"Last night, Putin authorized Russian forces to deploy into the region -- these regions. Today, he asserted that these regions are -- actually extend deeper than the two areas he recognized, claiming large areas currently under the jurisdiction of the Ukraine government." 3

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:00:38-00:00:50 (12 sec)
"He's setting up a rationale to take more territory by force, in my view. And if we listen to his speech last night -- and many of you did, I know -- he's -- he's setting up a rationale to go much further." 4

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:00:50-00:00:58 (8 sec)
"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he indicated and asked permission to be able to do from his Duma." 5

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:00:58-00:01:16 (18 sec)
"So, let's begin to -- so, I'm going to begin to impose sanctions in response, far beyond the steps we and our Allies and partners implemented in 2014. And if Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as -- with sanction." 6

Joe Biden

Negative
00:01:16-00:01:33 (17 sec)
"Who in the Lord's name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors? This is a flagrant violation of international law, and it demands a firm response from the international community." 7

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:01:33-00:01:52 (19 sec)
"Over the last few months, we have coordinated closely with our NATO Allies and partners in Europe and around the world to prepare that response. We've said all along and I've told Putin to his face a mon- -- a month a- -- more than a month ago that we would act together and the moment Russia moved against Ukraine." 8

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:01:52-00:01:59 (7 sec)
"Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine by declaring these independent states." 9

Joe Biden

Slightly Negative
00:01:59-00:02:14 (15 sec)
"So, today, I'm announcing the first tranche of sanctions to impose costs on Russia in response to their actions yesterday. These have been closely coordinated with our Allies and partners, and we'll continue to escalate sanctions if Russia escalates." 10

Joe Biden

Somewhat Negative
00:02:14-00:02:24 (10 sec)
"We're implementing full blocking sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions: V.E.B. and their military bank." 11

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:02:24-00:02:41 (18 sec)
"We're implementing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. That means we've cut off Russia's government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either." 12

Joe Biden

Somewhat Positive
00:02:41-00:02:54 (13 sec)
"Starting [DEL: tomorrow :DEL] [today] and continuing in the days ahead, we will also impose sanctions on Russia's elites and their family members. They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well." 13

Joe Biden

Slightly Positive
00:02:54-00:03:04 (10 sec)
"And because of Russia's actions, we've worked with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 will not -- as I promised -- will not move forward." 14

Joe Biden

Leans Positive
00:03:04-00:03:15 (11 sec)
"As Russia contemplates its next move, we have our next move prepared as well. Russia will pay an even steeper price if it continues its aggression, including additional sanctions." 15

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:03:15-00:03:23 (9 sec)
"The United States will continue to provide defensive assistance to Ukraine in the meantime. And we'll continue to reinforce and reassure our NATO Allies." 16

Joe Biden

Somewhat Positive
00:03:23-00:03:39 (16 sec)
"Today, in response to Russia's admission that it will not withdraw its forces from Belarus, I have authorized additional movements of U.S. forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic Allies -- Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania." 17

Joe Biden

Positive
00:03:39-00:04:00 (21 sec)
"Let me be clear: These are totally defensive moves on our part. We have no intention of fighting Russia. We want to send an unmistakable message, though, that the United States, together with our Allies, will defend every inch of NATO territory and abide by the commitments we made to NATO." 18

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:04:00-00:04:17 (16 sec)
"We still believe that Russia is poised to go much further in launching a massive military attack against Ukraine. I hope I'm wrong about that -- hope we're wrong about that. But Russia has only escalated its threat against the rest of Ukrainian territory, including major cities and including the capital city of Kyiv." 19

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:04:17-00:04:32 (15 sec)
"There are -- there are still well over 150,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine. And as I said, Russian forces remain positioned in Belarus to attack Ukraine from the north, including war planes and offensive missile systems." 20

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:04:32-00:04:45 (14 sec)
"Russia has moved troops closer to Ukraine's border with Russia. Russia's naval vessels are maneuvering in the Black Sea to Ukraine's south, including amphibious assault ships, missile cruisers, and submarines." 21

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:04:45-00:04:54 (9 sec)
"Russia has moved supplies of blood and medical equipment into position on their border. You don't need blood unless you plan on starting a war." 22

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:04:54-00:05:31 (37 sec)
"And over the last few days, we've seen much of the playbook that Secretary Blinken laid out last week at the United Nations Security Council come to pass: a major increase in military provocations and false-flag events along the line of contact in the Donbas; dramatically staged, conveniently on-camera meeting of Putin's Security Council to grandstand for the Russian public; and now political provocation of recognizing sovereign Ukrainian territory as so-called independent republics in clear violation, again, of international law." 23

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:05:31-00:05:46 (15 sec)
"President Putin has sought authorization from the Russian parliament to use military force outside of Russian territory. And this set the stage for further pretexts and further provocations by Russia to try to justify further military action." 24

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:05:46-00:05:53 (8 sec)
"None of us -- none of us should be fooled. None of us will be fooled. There is no justification." 25

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:05:53-00:06:05 (11 sec)
"Further Russian assault into Ukraine remains a severe threat in the days ahead. And if Russia proceeds, it is Russia, and Russia alone, that bears the responsibility." 26

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:06:05-00:06:24 (20 sec)
"As we respond, my administration is using every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers from rising prices at the pump. As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well, here at home. We need to be honest about that." 27

Joe Biden

Leans Positive
00:06:24-00:06:34 (10 sec)
"But as we will do -- but as we do this, I'm going to take robust action and make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours." 28

Joe Biden

Positive
00:06:34-00:06:50 (15 sec)
"We are closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption. We're executing a plan in coordination with major oil-producing consumers and producers toward a collective investment to secure stability and global energy supplies." 29

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:06:50-00:06:59 (9 sec)
"This will be -- this will blunt gas prices. I want to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me." 30

Joe Biden

Neutral
00:06:59-00:07:14 (15 sec)
"In the last few days, I have been in constant contact with European leaders, including with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Vice President Harris met in person with leaders in Germany over the weekend at the Munich Conference, including President Zelenskyy." 31

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:07:14-00:07:40 (26 sec)
"At every step, we have shown that the United States and our Allies and partners are working in unison -- which he hasn't been counting on -- Mr. Putin. We're united in our support of Ukraine. We're united in our opposition to Russian aggression. And we're united in our resolve to defend our NATO Alliance. And we're united in our understanding of the urgency and seriousness of the threat Russia is making to global peace and stability." 32

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:07:40-00:08:06 (25 sec)
"Yesterday, the world heard clearly the full extent of Vladimir Putin's twisted rewrite of history, going back more than a century, as he waxed eloquently, noting that -- well, I'm not going to go into it, but nothing in Putin's lengthy remarks indicated any interest in pursuing real dialogue on European security in the year 2022." 33

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:08:06-00:08:24 (18 sec)
"He directly attacked Ukraine's right to exist. He indirectly threatened territory formerly held by Russia, including nations that today are thriving democracies and members of NATO. He explicitly threatened war unless his extreme demands were met." 34

Joe Biden

Negative
00:08:24-00:08:31 (8 sec)
"And there is no question that Russia is the aggressor. So we're clear-eyed about the challenges we're facing." 35

Joe Biden

Very Negative
00:08:31-00:08:40 (9 sec)
"Nonetheless, there is still time to avert the worst-case scenario that will bring untold suffering to millions of people if they move as suggested." 36

Joe Biden

Somewhat Positive
00:08:40-00:08:53 (13 sec)
"The United States and our Allies and partners remain open to diplomacy if it is serious. When all is said and done, we're going to judge Russia by its actions, not its words." 37

Joe Biden

Very Positive
00:08:53-00:09:00 (7 sec)
"And whatever Russia does next, we're ready to respond with unity, clarity, and conviction." 38

Joe Biden

Positive
00:09:00-00:09:07 (7 sec)
"We'll probably have more to say about this as we -- if it moves on. I'm hoping diplomacy is still available." 39

Joe Biden

Somewhat Positive
00:09:07-00:09:16 (8 sec)
"Thank you all very much." 40