Democracy Dies in Darkness

Ukrainian ambassador gets standing ovation, as Biden praises Ukraine’s strength in State of the Union

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Updated March 2, 2022 at 11:03 a.m. EST|Published March 2, 2022 at 3:44 a.m. EST
President Biden began his State of the Union address on March 1 speaking on Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and introduced the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. (Video: The Washington Post)
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Almost as soon as his State of the Union address began on Tuesday, President Biden sought to unify the Democratic and Republican parties against Russia following its recent attack on Ukraine, leading a standing ovation for the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States.

Fewer than a dozen sentences into his speech, the president accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of trying to “shake the foundation of the free world” by invading neighboring Ukraine last week. Putin “badly miscalculated,” Biden said.