Biden’s Hope vs. Putin’s Lies
AtlanticNov 27, 2022
Day 364: Fresh Attacks and Air Raid Sirens Follow Leaders' Speeches
story
Image copyright: AFP / Getty Images [via Newsweek]
The Facts
Hours after US Pres. Joe Biden and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin delivered contrasting speeches, Ukraine was again hit by a wave of missile attacks with air-raid sirens reported across the country on Wednesday.
A Russian missile strike was recorded in the region of Kharkiv, reportedly injuring two civilians. Russian rockets and artillery were also recorded in the regions of Sumy, Luhansk, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in the past day. One civilian was reported killed and one more injured in the Donetsk region.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
After Putin's falsehood-ridden speech, Biden pushed back by triumphantly declaring that Russia will never be victorious against Ukraine. As the one-year anniversary of the war approaches, that's exactly the message that the world — particularly Ukraine — needs to hear.
Pro-Russia narrative
As Putin rightly highlighted, Russia tried to engage the US and NATO on security guarantees before the conflict started — the efforts were ignored and followed by a further buildup of NATO presence on Russia's borders. The blame for this conflict lies with the West for flagrantly posing an unacceptable security risk that prompted a defensive military operation.
