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Joe Biden: Ukraine president 'didn't want to hear it' when he was warned about Russia
US President Joe Biden said Friday (June 10) that his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky "didn't want to hear" American warnings ahead of Russia's invasion of his country.
US intelligence gathered information that Russia was preparing to invade, according to the US President.
"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 and that Vladimir Putin “was going to go in, off the border”.
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.
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“There was no doubt,” Biden said. “And Zelenskyy didn’t want to hear it.”
In the weeks before the war began on 24 February some commentators say Mr Zelenskyy had publicly bristled as Biden administration officials repeatedly warned a Russian invasion was highly likely.
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