Joe Biden appears to mistake Ukrainians for Iranians in State of the Union speech

Joe Biden appears to mistake Ukrainians for Iranians in State of the Union speech
Kamala Ukrainian Iranian DIGI
Aden-Jay Wood

By Aden-Jay Wood


Published: 02/03/2022

- 07:33

Updated: 02/03/2022

- 08:39

The US President's comments came during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday

US President Joe Biden appeared to confuse Ukrainians with Iranians as he spoke out on Russia’s ongoing invasion of its neighbour.

The 79-year-old made the comments during his State of the Union speech In Washington on Tuesday.


As well as the error, Mr Biden also sent a message to Russia's Vladimir Putin, saying he will “never extinguish the love of freedom".

He said: “Six days ago, Russia's Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundation of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated.

“He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead, he [was] met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or expected – he met the Ukrainian people.'

The Democrat went on to say: “Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he’ll never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.”

His comments were met with a rippling of applause before confusion began to break out.

Mr Biden added: “He’ll never, he’ll never extinguish their love of freedom.

“And he will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world.”

The war entered its seventh day on Wednesday, with Russian forces still struggling to capture the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Further air strikes have hit Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv on Tuesday night, including one attack on a University.

At least 21 people have been killed and 112 wounded in Kharkiv over the last 24 hours, the regional governor Oleg Synegubov has said.

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