Vladimir Putin "badly miscalculated” with his invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden said in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, calling the Russian leader a "dictator” and warning that the war will leave his country weaker.
In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, Biden asked the audience for his speech to stand. Many lawmakers and guests held Ukrainian flags. Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, was present and Biden also announced that the U.S. will close its airspace to Russian airlines, following the lead of more than a dozen European countries.
"He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people,” he said. "He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.”