US and allies ‘have Ukraine’s back’, Joe Biden tells crowd in Poland

His speech came a day after his unannounced trip to Kyiv, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President Joe Biden holds a speech at the Royal Castle after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)

Joe Biden has promised that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has hardened western resolve to defend democracy around the globe.

The US president, returning to the Polish castle where he spoke shortly after the invasion began last year, warned there are “hard and bitter days ahead”, but pledged that the US and its allies will “have Ukraine’s back” as the war enters its second year.