US President Joe Biden on Saturday called on Europe to steel itself for a long fight against Russian aggression while issuing a stern warning to Moscow against moving on Nato territory, even as Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine enters its second month.

Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine has tested Nato and the West’s ability to unite. Nevertheless, Biden assured Nato ally Poland of the United States’ aid in the eventuality of a Russian attack, while also lauding the country’s acceptance of millions of refugees from war-torn Ukraine.

On the other hand, as Moscow’s “special operation” in Ukraine stalls in the face of stiff resistance, it is switching gears when it comes to military tactics.

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HERE ARE THE TOP DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

1. Delivering a fiery speech on the Russia-Ukraine war in the Polish capital of Warsaw, US President Joe Biden declared that the US was ready to defend every inch of Nato territory if Moscow decided to expand its aggression. “Don’t even think about moving on one single inch of Nato territory,” Biden warned. He also called for a regime change in Russia, saying, “For God’s sake, this man [Putin] cannot remain in power.” However, after the US President’s speech, the White House issued a statement saying his “point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbours or the region.”

2. Earlier in the day, Biden met Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov in Warsaw, his first face-to-face talks with top Ukrainian officials since the start of the Russian invasion. Later, while meeting with refugee families who fled the war in Ukraine, Biden had this to say about Putin: “He is a butcher.”

3. Biden also sought to reassure Poland that the US would defend against any attacks by Russia and he acknowledged that the Nato ally bore the burden of the refugee crisis from the war in neighbouring Ukraine. “Your freedom is ours,” Biden told Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, as the two leaders discussed shared goals to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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4. Russian forces seized Slavutych, a town close to the border with Belarus where workers at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear plant live, the governor of Kyiv region said. The invaders, however, were met with resistance from civilians, and had to detonate stun grenades to disperse protesters who unfurled a large Ukrainian flag and shouted “Glory to Ukraine” in the town square.

5. Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine, fears becoming the next Mariupol. Besieged by Russian troops, the city is constantly being bombarded and shelled, and running low on food and potable water. Ways out of Chernihiv are being systematically cut off — a main bridge was bombed on Wednesday and a pedestrian bridge rendered impassable by shelling on Friday. Around 200 civilians have been killed so far, the city’s mayor said on Saturday.

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