Biden “not walking anything back” – Comments about Putin don’t mean a policy change

President Joe Biden on Monday said he is not taking back his comments that Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” adding that it does not mean the Administration has changed its policy regarding the Russian regime.

“I’m not walking anything back,” Biden said. “The fact of the matter is I was expressing the moral outrage I felt toward the way Putin is dealing and the actions of this man, which is just brutality.”

Biden noted that he felt that outrage after meeting with refugees in Warsaw, Poland. “I want to make it clear, I wasn’t then nor am I now articulating a policy change,” he said.

“I was expressing moral outrage that I feel. I make no apologies for it.” The President also said he doesn’t believe his comments complicate the diplomatic efforts to end the war.

“What complicates the situation at the moment is the escalatory efforts of Putin to continue to engage in carnage,” Biden said. Adding, “The kind of behavior that makes the whole world say, ‘My God, what is this man doing?’”

“Ground forces no longer advancing”

Pentagon official says Russian ground forces no longer advancing.

Russian troops have ceased making advances on the ground toward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and appear to have refocused their aims in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. Defense official said Monday.

The Russians appear intent on cutting off Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region, according to the official, who discussed intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity. 

The Russian move could also be aimed at establishing authority there to gain leverage in negotiations for a cease-fire or peace deal, the official said.