Biden: Putin thought the war in Ukraine would split NATO, but he was wrong

US President Joe Biden spoke in Vilnius following the NATO summit held in the city on July 11-12.

According to CNN, Biden said during a speech that, in his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin expected NATO to disintegrate after the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine.

According to him, Putin thought that "our unity will collapse at the first test," and "democratic leaders will be weak." “But he was wrong,” the US president said.

Biden noted that the allied countries continue to support Ukraine. According to him, US support will not weaken and Washington will support the Ukrainian authorities "for as long as it takes."

At the end of his speech, the President of the United States said that "the choices we make now will determine the direction of our world for decades to come":

Will we repulse undisguised aggression today in order to deter potential aggressors tomorrow? Can we stop the climate crisis before it's too late? Will we use new technologies to expand freedom, or will we reduce it? How we answer these important questions will literally determine the future of our children and grandchildren.

• The NATO summit was held in Vilnius on July 11-12. One of its main topics was Ukraine's entry into the alliance. NATO countries promised Ukraine an accelerated entry into the military-political bloc, but did not specify when it could become a member of the alliance. The G7 countries adopted a statement on security guarantees for Ukraine, promising financial and military support to the Ukrainian authorities.