Biden Will Link Fight for Ukraine With Allied Effort on D-Day
President Biden will use a speech in Normandy on Thursday to link the United States’ commitment to Ukraine with the Allied victory in World War II, arguing that the United States must continue to stand up for democracy and freedom around the world.
The speech, which will be delivered at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France, on the 79th anniversary of D-Day, will be Mr. Biden’s first major address on foreign policy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It will come as the United States and its allies are preparing to send more military aid to Ukraine, and as Mr. Biden is trying to rally support for Ukraine from other countries.
“The United States of America made a sacred promise to the brave men and women of the Greatest Generation,” Mr. Biden will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House. “A promise that we would stand with our allies, and that we would defend freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. We made that promise 80 years ago, and we have kept that promise ever since.”
Mr. Biden will also use the speech to draw a direct line between the Allied victory in World War II and the current conflict in Ukraine, arguing that the United States and its allies must continue to stand up for democracy and freedom around the world.
“The battle for Ukraine is not just about Ukraine,” Mr. Biden will say. “It is about whether an authoritarian world order, based on brutality and belligerence, is allowed to keep moving, or whether a rules-based order, grounded in the principles of sovereignty, democracy, and human rights, can be strengthened and preserved.”
The speech will be delivered in front of a crowd that includes veterans, members of the French government, and American military leaders. It will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery, where more than 9,300 American soldiers who died during the D-Day invasion and the ensuing battles are buried.