Biden: Zelensky 'Didn't Want to Hear' Warnings about Invasion

US President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Port of Los Angeles, during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, US, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Port of Los Angeles, during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, US, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Biden: Zelensky 'Didn't Want to Hear' Warnings about Invasion

US President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Port of Los Angeles, during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, US, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Joe Biden speaks during a visit to the Port of Los Angeles, during the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, US, June 10, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Joe Biden said Friday that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky "didn't want to hear" American warnings ahead of Russia's invasion of his country.

"I know a lot of people thought I was exaggerating," Biden said at a fundraising reception in Los Angeles, referring to his forewarning of the possibility of a Russian attack.

"But I knew we had data to sustain (the assessment)," he added in front of reporters.

"(Russian President Vladimir Putin) was gonna go into the border. And there was no doubt, and Zelensky didn't want to hear it, nor did a lot of people. I understand why they didn't want to hear it, but he went in."

The United States began raising the alarm over Russia's preparations for an invasion of Ukraine well before Putin announced the "special operation" against the country on February 24.

The warnings were met with disbelief and even veiled criticism from some European allies, who at the time felt the United States was being too alarmist.



Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
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Iran Guards Chief Says Netanyahu ICC Warrant 'Political Death' of Israel

Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP
Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami - File/AFP

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday described the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a former defense minister as the “end and political death” of Israel, in a speech.
“This means the end and political death of the Zionist regime, a regime that today lives in absolute political isolation in the world and its officials can no longer travel to other countries,” Revolutionary Guards chief General Hossein Salami said in the speech aired on state TV.
In the first official reaction by Iran, Salami called the ICC warrant “a welcome move” and a “great victory for the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements,” both supported by the Islamic republic, AFP reported.
The court also issued a warrant for the arrest of Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif.
The warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant were issued in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The ICC’s move theoretically limits the movement of Netanyahu, as any of the court’s 124 national members would be obliged to arrest him on their territory.
The court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan urged the body’s members to act on the warrants, and for non-members to work together in “upholding international law.”