US President Joe Biden vowed Thursday he will not “bow down” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, fiercely criticizing rival Donald Trump in his State of the Union address.

From the very first moments of his annual address, Biden lashed out at his predecessor and presumed Republican rival in November elections and urged the divided Congress to approve stalled military aid to Ukraine.

“Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond,” Biden said.

“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not.”

“It wasn’t long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” Biden said, invoking the famous 1987 Berlin speech in the waning days of the Cold War.

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“My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want,’ That’s a quote,” Biden told the joint session. 

“I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable,” Biden said.

“My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away,” Biden said.

“I will not bow down,” Biden said. “In a literal sense, history is watching.”

In the first few minutes of the address, Biden also lambasted Trump for fomenting an attempt to overthrow the US government by force and trying to reverse the confirmed results of the 2020 presidential elections.

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Ukraine’s army is on the backfoot in most parts of the front while Russia presses on with its advantage ahead of the inauguration next month of US president-elect Donald Trump.
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