Ukraine has hit back at Joe Biden’s “absurd” remarks that Volodymyr Zelensky “didn’t want to hear” US intelligence about the likelihood of a Russian invasion.
Sergei Nikiforov, the spokesman for the Ukrainian President, said the US President’s claim “probably needs to be clarified” as it was Ukraine’s partners who failed to heed their concerns.
Mr. Nikiforov told the Liga news agency that Mr. Zelensky had had “three or four telephone conversations” with Mr. Biden before the war began, during which they discussed “detailed” information about the situation.
He added that Ukraine had asked for preventative measures such as sanctions to deter Russia, but “our partners… did not want to hear us”.
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Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak also criticised Mr Biden’s comments, saying that it is “pointless to blame the country, which is more than 100 days [into] a full-fledged war against a much more resourceful opponent, if key countries have failed to prevent the militaristic appetites of the Russian Federation”.
