While extending support to Kyiv in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict, US President Joe Biden has reiterated that his country will not deploy troops in Ukraine against the Russian forces.
Biden's remarks came during the first State of Union address delivered by him to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Tuesday (local time).
Condemning Russia's "premeditated attack" in Ukraine, Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to shake the very foundation of the free world.
He further said that the NATO alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War II and the US stands with Ukraine in the ongoing conflict.
However, Biden added that the US will not have boots on the ground in the ongoing war.
"Let me be clear -- our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine," he said.
Biden clarified that the US troops were deployed to Europe not to fight in Ukraine, "but to defend our NATO allies in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west."
"For that purpose, we have mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, ship deployments to protect NATO countries, including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia," he added.
Biden also announced that the US has banned Russian aircraft from its airspace.
Meanwhile, Russia on Tuesday intensified the shelling on the sixth day of its military operations in Ukraine by targeting the capital city Kyiv as well as the second-largest city Kharkiv.
( With inputs from ANI )
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