In a speech commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in France, US President Joe Biden compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to World War II.
Speaking just steps from where 9,388 U.S. troops who participated in the landing are buried, Biden warned that democracies around the world were under renewed threat, adding that autocrats were closely watching the West’s response to Ukraine.
The president, born in 1942, may have been the last living American leader during the operation to liberate Nazi-occupied France.
The ceremony was attended by several world leaders on Thursday, including French President Emmanuel Macron, King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Thank you to the Ukrainian people for their bravery. We are here and we will not weaken,” Mr Macron said, as world leaders gathered gave Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a standing ovation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, was not invited to Thursday’s commemoration ceremony.
Throughout his speech, Biden frequently drew connections between the anti-fascist struggle in World War II and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The world’s dictators are paying close attention to what is happening in Ukraine,” the president warned in front of a field dotted with small white tombstones of fallen American service members.
He vowed that the United States would not “give up” on the conflict, claiming that “if we did, Ukraine would be conquered and it wouldn’t end there. Ukraine’s neighbors would be threatened, all of Europe would be threatened.”
He also launched a direct attack on President Vladimir Putin, calling the longtime Russian leader a “tyrant.”
The president has also sought to unite Western leaders, repeatedly highlighting the growing threat from anti-democratic forces around the world and growing threats to freedoms.
He praised the efforts of the “noble brothers” who took part in the Normandy landings and said “those who fought here are heroes.”
“They know, without a doubt, that some things are worth fighting for and worth dying for. Freedom is worth it. Democracy is worth it. America is worth it. The world is worth it.”
Accompanied by President Macron, Mr. Biden emphasized the importance of enduring partnerships among democracies around the world.
Stressing the value of the NATO alliance, Biden said that “80 years ago, what our allies did here far exceeded anything we could have done on our own,” adding that it was “my prayer that we as Americans will never A lesson that will never be forgotten.”
The comments come amid growing isolationism among some in the Republican Party. Many members of the party are increasingly skeptical of military aid to Ukraine.
President Biden has blamed some of Ukraine’s battlefield losses in recent months on the party’s delay in approving new aid.
He lashed out at America’s isolationist tendencies, saying “the price of unchecked tyranny is the blood of the young and the brave.”
In an earlier interview with ABC News, Biden defended his decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to directly strike Russia. He stressed that the attack would be limited to border areas and would not extend to the capital Moscow.
Among those attending the ceremony under the Normandy sun were some of the American soldiers who took part in the landings, which remain the largest maritime invasion in history.
On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 American, British, Canadian and French troops landed on the five beaches.
Several of the men, wearing baseball caps, were awarded France’s Legion of Honor by Macron, France’s highest civilian honor.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended a separate ceremony to commemorate the 381 Canadians who lost their lives during the D-Day attack on Juno Beach.
Echoing Biden’s message, the Canadian leader said: “We all must continue to support democracy day in and day out as we do for generations to come.”
Prince William, Prince of Wales, also attended the Canadian Memorial Service at Juno Beach in Normandy. He thanked Canadian veterans for their “extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice.”
King Charles III laid a wreath at the Normandy Memorial in Vail-sur-Mer during a ceremony in England, along with a note commemorating the sacrifices of D-Day.
In his speech, he expressed hope that the sacrifices made by D-Day veterans “never happen again.”
“Our gratitude never ceases and our admiration is eternal,” he concluded, to loud applause.
