Putin was wrong to think he could break NATO with Ukraine war - Biden in Vilnius

VILNIUS - Russian President Vladimir Putin was wrong in his thinking that he would break NATO's  unity with its war in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said in Vilnius on Wednesday.

"When Putin and his craving lust for land and power unleashed this brutal war in Ukraine, he was betting the NATO would break apart, he was betting the NATO would break. He thought our unity would shatter at the first testing. He thought democratic leaders would be weak. But he thought wrong," the US president said.

Biden condemned Russia's war crimes in Ukraine and stressed that Putin still does not understand his mistake.

"Putin still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine. He can't believe it's their land, their country, and their future, and even after all this time, Putin still doubts our staying power," the US president said. "He's still making a bad bet out of conviction that unity among the US and our partners and our allies will break down. He still doesn't understand that our commitment to our values, our freedom is something he can never ever walk away from. It's who we are," Biden said.

Earlier on Wednesday, at the NATO summit, allied leaders focused on military and political assistance to Ukraine as it continues to fight against Russian invasion that started in late February 2022.