Comparison of Biden remarks on sending tanks to Ukraine are missing context
Comparison of Biden remarks on sending tanks to Ukraine are missing context
(Reuters) - US President Joe Biden announced last week that the US would be supplying Ukraine with 31 Abrams tanks. The move aligns with the administrations ongoing military support to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. Posts online comparing the move to a statement by Biden in March 2022 saying the presence of American troops and equipment in Ukraine would mean “World War Three” are missing context.
An image purportedly featuring comments made by Biden on March 11, 2022, and Jan. 25, 2023, has been shared on Instagram. The first quote states, “The idea that we’re going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that’s called World War III,” while the other says, “Today, I am announcing that the United States will be sending Abram tanks to Ukraine (sic).”(here), (here) The claim has surfaced on Facebook (here) and Twitter (here) as well.
“The idea that we’re going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that’s called World War III,” is not a direct quote, however, and Biden said that providing both US equipment and personnel, not just tanks, would be “World War Three.”
Speaking at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference on March 11, 2022, Biden had said that “the idea that we’re going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand — and don’t kid yourself, no matter what you all say — that’s called ‘World War Three.’”
Biden announced on Jan. 25 that the U.S. will supply Ukraine with 31 advanced M1 Abrams tanks worth $400 million, Reuters reported.
“Today, I’m announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine, the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion,” Biden stated in a briefing, while adding that the move was to help “Ukraine defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity” and “It is not an offensive threat to Russia”.
Reuters reported on Jan. 31 that, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022, the US has sent approximately $27.2 billion worth of security assistance to Ukraine.
Responding to a request for comment, a White House spokesperson directed Reuters towards the original transcripts of Biden’s remarks and confirmed that the claim appears to leave out the President’s full comments.
VERDICT
Missing context. Biden’s remarks on sending tanks to Ukraine have been cropped in online memes.
