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VILNIUS, Lithuania — President Joe Biden said “the people of Ukraine remain unbroken” a year and a half after Russia’s invasion, proclaiming that the defense of freedom is “the calling of our lifetime” in a sweeping speech to close out a NATO summit that exposed tensions about Ukraine’s hopes to join the alliance.
Tapping into his surroundings, Biden drew a parallel between Ukraine’s battle against Russia and eastern European nations’ fight more than three decades ago to break free from the Soviet Union’s Communist hold.
Biden’s evening speech at Vilnius University, located in the city’s Old Town, concluded two days of talks with U.S. allies about Russia’s war of aggression and the future of the military alliance. Just prior to the remarks, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for more than an hour at the site of the NATO summit.
“We will not waver,” Biden told a cheering audience. “I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for liberty and freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
About 10,000 people attended Biden’s speech, according to the White House, citing an estimate from the Vilnius mayor’s office.
The U.S. president began his remarks by recognizing Lithuania’s struggle for independence in the face of Soviet control before the end of the Cold War, saying it is “a region that knows better than anyone the transformational power of freedom.”
“You showed the world that the strength of people united cannot be denied,” Biden said to a packed courtyard. “And together with your brothers and sisters in Estonia and Latvia, you helped end the era of division through the power of connection.”
The battle largely took place in Vilnius, the capital city of Lithuania and the location of this year’s NATO Summit.
Lithuania was the first country to declare its independence from the federation in 1990. But it took a violent multi-day battle the following year, in 1991, for the eastern European nation to officially break free of Soviet rule.
“Fourteen heroes tragically lost their lives. Hundreds were wounded,” Biden said of the unarmed defenders of Lithuania’s freedom who were killed by Soviet troops in the skirmish that would become known as Bloody Sunday. “But the whole world saw decades of oppression had done nothing to dim the flame of liberty in this country,” he added.
“The light of Lithuania. You kept it strong. You kept it bright. And you kept the light shining,” Biden said.
Ukraine’s secession from the USSR in December of 1991 brought about the communist country’s downfall. By the end of the year, the Soviet Union had dissolved.
Biden said that Baltic nations’ entry into NATO a little more than a decade later strengthened the alliance, which now has 31 nations. And in the face of Russian aggression, he said, it is “stronger, more energized and yes, more united than ever in its history” and continues to grow.
“The defense of freedom is not the work of a day or a year. It’s the calling of our lifetime —of all time. We are steeled for the struggle ahead,’ Biden said. “Our unity will not falter. I promise you.”
Historical parallels
President George W. Bush made a historic visit to Lithuania in 2002, arriving the day after NATO extended an invitation to the Baltic nation and six other countries to join the alliance. Addressing a crowd of thousands on Vilnius’ Old Town Square, Bush proclaimed that the country’s “long night of fear, uncertainty and loneliness is over.”
“You’re joining the strong and growing family of NATO,” he said.
As vice president, Biden traveled to Lithuania in 2014, just one week ahead of the country’s 10th anniversary as a member of NATO. In remarks at the presidential palace, he denounced Russian aggression against Crimea and its armed attacks against Ukrainian military personnel.
In an eerie preview of a message he would deliver again as president nearly a decade later, he warned: “We stand resolutely with our Baltic allies in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russian aggression. As long as Russia continues on this dark path, they will face increasing political and economic isolation. … There are costs, and growing costs, that come with naked aggression.”
In Lithuania on Wednesday, Biden sought to rally NATO allies to apply “same spirit of unity, common purpose and determination” they have brought to countering Russia to addressing other issues facing the alliance, including economic competition with China, climate change and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Biden will make a stop in Finland, the newest member of the NATO alliance, before he returns to the U.S.
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