U.S. President Joe Biden drew on the heroism of U.S. soldiers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in the D-Day invasion 80 years ago to rally for the defense of democracy at home and abroad and "stay true to what America stands for."
Biden spoke on June 7 at a monument honoring the U.S. Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs using ropes, ladders, and their bare hands while under fire after coming ashore in the invasion that began on June 6, 1944, and ultimately freed Europe from Nazi Germany's subjugation in World War II.
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“As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day June 6, 1944,” Biden said. “It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what will we do. They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs. They’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for.”
Earlier on June 7, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris, where he stressed the U.S. commitment to Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion. He also announced a new $225 million package of ammunition shipments, including rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, and air-defense missiles.
It was their first meeting since Biden signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine after months of delay prompted by Republican infighting. Biden publicly apologized to the Ukrainian people for the delay in American military assistance.
“I apologize for...those weeks of not knowing what’s going to happen in terms of funding,” Biden said, but insisted that the American people were standing by Ukraine for the long haul.
"I assure you the United States is going to stand with you," Biden said. "You are the bulwark against the aggression that’s taken place. We have an obligation to be there. We’re still in. Completely. Thoroughly.”
Zelenskiy said he and Biden discussed Ukraine's defense capabilities, the situation on the battlefield, and preparations for signing a bilateral security agreement. He said Ukraine must gain the ability to strike military targets on Russian territory to effectively defend itself.
"It is also important to strengthen the defense of our Kharkiv region and speed up the delivery of American weapons," he said on Telegram.
The White House said Zelenskiy and Biden discussed the state of the war, Ukraine's urgent need for aid, and the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland.
Zelenskiy, speaking earlier to the French parliament, said the peace Europe has enjoyed since the end of World War II has been erased by the aggression of Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, and is a threat to the entire continent.
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"We live in times when Europe again stopped being a continent of peace," Zelenskiy said. "We live in times when Nazism is returning again, unfortunately. Now in Europe again cities are being destroyed and villages are being burned to ashes. In Europe again we have filtration camps, deportations, and hatred that became a new cult in Russia."
Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor any other officials from Russia were invited to the commemoration.
While Biden and other Western leaders were in France, Putin spoke at an economic forum in St. Petersburg, telling business leaders that Russia “remains one of the key participants in world trade” despite sweeping sanctions imposed for sending its troops into Ukraine.
Putin said that he did not see that conditions for the use of nuclear weapons as set out in Russia's nuclear doctrine had been met, but he added that he could not rule out a change to the doctrine.
"We have a nuclear doctrine, which states that the use of nuclear arms is possible in an exceptional case: when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country is threatened," he said. "But the doctrine can be changed. The same applies to nuclear tests. We will carry out tests if needed, but so far there is no such need."
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He reiterated that Russia is ready for peace talks but only on the same conditions discussed first in Minsk and then in Istanbul. But he said the basis for any talks "must take into account the realities of today."
He also again warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.
Following pleas from Ukraine to allow its forces to defend itself against attacks originating from Russian territory, and after pressure from some European leaders, Biden last week reversed Washington's position and gave Ukraine the go-ahead to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Germany, where Zelenskiy is scheduled to address lawmakers next week, announced a similar change in policy shortly afterward.
Ahead of Biden's meeting with Zelenskiy, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated NATO's position that Ukraine has the right to strike inside Russia in self-defense.
"This is a war of attack that Russia has begun against a peaceful, democratic neighboring country, Ukraine, that at no point has been a threat to Russia," Stoltenberg said after a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Stockholm on June 7.
"There is no question that Ukraine has the right to hit targets on Russian territory," Stoltenberg said.