President Joe Biden expressed regret Friday that his handlers would not let him travel into Ukraine to see firsthand the damage done by Russia.
“Quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand, like I have in other places,” Biden said during a visit to Poland. “They will not let me, understandably; I guess it would cross the border — and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine.”
The president spoke to Polish President Andrzej Duda and government officials at the airport in Rzeszów, Poland, before receiving a briefing on humanitarian efforts in Europe.
Poland has accepted more than 2 million refugees from Ukraine since the conflict began.
Biden said that 10 million people had been displaced by Russia’s war in Ukraine, 3.8 million of them traveling to other countries.
The president spoke about what it was like to watch the crisis unfold on television.
“It’s like something out of a science fiction movie,” he said. “You turn on the television and see what these towns look like, and the cities.”
He noted that parents were getting separated from their children as the war in Ukraine continued.
“I don’t think there’s anything worse for a parent than to see their child suffering,” he said. “I mean that sincerely. It’s not hyperbole. I mean it from the bottom of my heart.”
The president plans to meet and visit with Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw on Saturday.
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