Says Vladimir Putin Can't Stay In Power, President Biden Praises Ukraine's Struggle: We Support You

President Joe Biden during a speech in Poland. (Twitter/POTUS)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin "couldn't stay in power" in Poland Saturday, a statement a White House official said was later meant to prepare the world's democracies for an extended conflict over Ukraine, not support regime change in Russia.

President Biden's comments on Saturday, including statements earlier in the day calling President Putin a "butcher", are a sharp escalation of the US approach to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

In a keynote address delivered at the Warsaw Palace, President Biden raised four decades of Poland behind an iron curtain, in an effort to build the case that world democracies must urgently confront autocratic Russia, as a threat to global security and freedom.

However, a statement at the end of the speech raised the specter of escalation by Washington, which has avoided direct military involvement in Ukraine, and specifically said it did not support regime change.

President Joe Biden met with Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense. (Twitter/POTUS)

"For God's sake, this man cannot stay in power," President Biden told a crowd in Warsaw after condemning Putin's month-long war in Ukraine.

A White House official said President Biden's remarks did not represent a change in Washington's policy.

"The President's point is that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or his territory," the official said.

"He didn't discuss Putin's power in Russia, or regime change." he continued.

Asked about President Biden's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters: "It's not Biden's decision. The Russian president is elected by Russia."

Calling the war against Putin a "new battle for freedom," President Biden said Putin's desire for absolute power was a strategic failure for Russia, as well as a direct challenge to European peace that has largely prevailed since World War Two.

"The West is stronger now, more united than ever. This battle will also not be won in a few days or months. We need to brace ourselves for the long battle ahead," he explained.

President Joe Biden visits a Ukrainian refugee center in Poland. (Twitter/POTUS)

The speech came after three days of meetings in Europe with the G7, Council of Europe and NATO allies, and took place at roughly the same time as rockets rained down on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, just 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the Polish border.

"Their courageous resistance is part of a larger struggle for the essential democratic principles that unite all free people," We support you. Period," said President Biden.

In his speech, President Biden said NATO is a defensive security alliance that has never sought Russia's destruction, reaffirming the West has no desire to harm the Russian people, even when its sanctions threaten to cripple their economy.

It is known, Poland was under communist rule for four decades until 1989, as well as a member of the Warsaw Pact security alliance led by Moscow. Now, Poland is part of the European Union and NATO.

The rise of far-right populism in Poland in recent years has put it in conflict with the EU and Washington, but fears of Russia pressing beyond its borders have drawn Poland closer to its Western allies.

Addressing a crowd holding US, Polish and Ukrainian flags, Biden said the West acted in unison because of the "grave threat" to global peace.

"The battle for democracy cannot be ended and does not end with the end of the Cold War. Over the past 30 years, autocratic powers have been resurgent around the world," he said.

Earlier in the day, President Biden attended a meeting with Ukraine's foreign and defense ministers, making additional, unspecified security pledges to develop defense cooperation, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

In Warsaw, President Biden also visited the refugee reception center at the national stadium. More than 2 million people have fled the war to Poland. In all, some 3.8 million have left Ukraine since the fighting began.