Russia-Ukraine conflict: Biden lambasts Putin for assault on global stability

Washington [US], March 9 : US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time) lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for assaulting global peace and stability amid a continued war between Russia and Ukraine.
Biden, speaking from the White House said that it is necessary to respond to Putin as the cost to freedom will be even greater tomorrow.
"If we do not respond to Putin's assault on global peace and stability today, the cost to freedom and to the American people will be even greater tomorrow. We will not be part of subsidizing Putin's war against the Ukrainian people," said Biden.
Speaking about the horrors of the war, he said that President Putin has already turned two million Ukrainians into refugees.
He also lauded the fightback efforts of Ukraine against Russia, Biden said, "He has already turned two million Ukrainians into refugees. Russia may continue to grind out its advance at a horrible price, but this much is already clear: Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin. Putin may be able to take a city, but he will never be able to hold the country."
In a fierce attack on the Russian President, he said, "Putin is now targeting cities and has been targeting cities and civilians, schools, hospitals, apartment buildings."
The US President also lambasted Putin for attacking the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
"Last week, he attacked the largest nuclear power plant in Europe with an apparent disregard for the potential of triggering a nuclear meltdown," said Biden.
On March 4, Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine informed the IAEA that a projectile had hit a training building in the vicinity of one of the plant's reactor units, causing a localized fire that was later extinguished.
IAEA had informed that the Russian forces at the Zaporizhzhya NPP had switched off some mobile networks and the internet so that reliable information from the site could not be obtained through the normal channels of communication.
Meanwhile, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is no longer transmitting data from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the facility, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi informed in a statement on Tuesday.
The Director-General indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost, the IAEA press release said, adding that, the Agency is looking into the status of safeguards monitoring systems in other locations in Ukraine and will provide further information soon.
The Director-General also raised deep concerns about the rotation of staff at the nuclear facility which was also the site of one of the world's worst nuclear disasters in 1986.
Addressing the escalating humanitarian crisis, Biden promised the United States would stand by its allies.
"So, we are going to continue to support the brave Ukrainian people as they fight for their country," said Biden.