US President Joe Biden has drawn parallels between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and World War II, in a speech commemorating the 80th anniversary of the landings in Normandy, France.
Speaking just steps from where 9,388 members of the US military who participated in the landings are buried, Biden warned that democracies around the world were once again under threat, adding that autocrats were watching closely the Western response to Ukraine.
The president, born in 1942, will probably be the last American leader still alive at the time of the operation to liberate France occupied by the Nazis.
Many world leaders were present at the ceremonies Thursday, including French President Emmanuel Macron, King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Thank you to the Ukrainian people for their courage. We are here and we are not going to weaken,” Macron said, as the assembled world leaders gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a standing ovation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was not invited to Thursday’s commemoration ceremony, has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Throughout his speech, Mr. Biden frequently made connections between the fight against fascism during World War II and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In front of a field dotted with small white headstones of fallen American service members, the president warned that “the autocrats of the world are closely watching what is happening in Ukraine.”
He promised that the United States would “not walk away” from the conflict, saying that “if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and it will not stop there.” Ukraine’s neighbors will be threatened, all of Europe will be threatened.”
And he launched a direct attack on President Putin, calling the longtime Russian leader a “tyrant.”
The president also sought to rally Western leaders, repeatedly emphasizing the growing threat from anti-democratic forces around the world and freedom increasingly under threat.
He praised the efforts of the “noble band of brothers” who participated in the landing, saying “the men who fought here were heroes.”
“They knew – without a doubt – that there were things worth fighting and dying for. Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it The world is worth it.”
Accompanied at the ceremony by President Macron, Mr. Biden highlighted the importance of lasting partnerships between democracies around the world.
Highlighting the value of the NATO alliance, Mr. Biden said that “what the allies did here 80 years ago far exceeded anything we could have done alone,” adding that it was ” a lesson I pray we Americans will never forget.”
These comments come amid growing isolationism in parts of the Republican Party. Many party members have become increasingly skeptical about sending military aid to Ukraine.
President Biden blamed the party’s delay in approving new aid for some of Ukraine’s battlefield losses in recent months.
He attacked isolationist tendencies in the United States, saying that “the price of unchecked tyranny is the blood of the young and the brave.”
In a previous interview with ABC News, Mr. Biden defended his decision to allow Ukraine to use American weapons to directly strike Russia. He stressed that the strikes would be limited to areas around the border and would not extend to strikes on the capital, Moscow.
Present at the ceremony, under the Norman sun, were a number of American soldiers who fought during the landing, which remains the largest maritime invasion in history.
More than 150,000 American, British, Canadian and French soldiers landed on the five beaches on June 6, 1944.
Several of the men, identified by baseball caps showing their service, received the Legion of Honor – France’s highest civilian honor – from Mr Macron.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated in a separate ceremony commemorating the 381 Canadians who died on D-Day while storming Juno Beach.
Echoing Mr. Biden’s message, the Canadian leader said: “We must all continue to defend democracy day after day, we owe it to future generations. »
The Prince of Wales, Prince William, was also present at the Canadian memorial ceremony at Juno Beach in Normandy. He thanked Canadian veterans for their “extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice.”
In a British ceremony, King Charles III laid a wreath at the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer with an attached note recalling the sacrifices made on D-Day.
In a speech, he said he hoped the sacrifice made by D-Day veterans “will never be made again.”
“Our gratitude is unfailing and our admiration eternal,” he concluded to a round of applause.
