Biden lauds resolve of Ukrainians after visit with refugees

U.S. President Joe Biden marvelled at the spirit and resolve of of Ukrainian refugees in the aftermath of Russia's deadly invasion as he embraced mothers and children and promised enduring support from Western powers.

Biden, while in Poland's capital, listened intently as children described the perilous flight from neighbouring Ukraine with their parents. Smiling broadly, he lifted up a young girl in a pink coat and told her she reminded him of his granddaughters. The president held hands with parents and gave them hugs during the stop at a soccer stadium where refugees go to obtain a Polish identification number that gives them access to social services such as health care and schools.

Some of the women and children told Biden that they fled without their husbands and fathers, men of fighting age who were required to remain behind to aid the resistance against the forces that Russian President Vladimir Putin -- "a butcher," in Biden's words -- sent into Ukraine more than a month ago.

"What I am always surprised by is the depth and strength of the human spirit," Biden told reporters after his conversations with the refugees at the stadium, which more recently had served as a field hospital for COVID-19 patients. "Each one of those children said something to the effect of, 'Say a prayer for my dad or grandfather or my brother who is out there fighting."

As Biden met with the refugees, Russia continued to pound cities throughout Ukraine. Explosions rang out in Lviv, the closest major Ukrainian city to Poland and a destination for the internally replaced that has been largely spared from major attacks.