Putin 'will never win the hearts of the people of Ukraine': Biden

A civilian in a small town in Ukraine is training to throw cocktails to save his city from Russian attack. (Photo - Reuters)

Late Tuesday night, President Joe Biden said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had made a "big mistake" by invading neighboring Ukraine and thinking that the "free world" could be "forced to bow to its threat."

At the beginning of his State of the Union address to the nation, Biden expressed support for Ukraine and outlined a broad, united response from Ukraine's allies, including measures to send arms and aid to Ukraine and impose strong economic sanctions on Russia.

"Putin can surround Kiev with tanks, but he will never win the hearts of the Ukrainian people," Biden said. He added: "He can never quench their (Ukrainian people's) love of freedom. He can never weaken the resolve for a free world."

Biden reiterated that the United States would not send troops to fight in Ukraine, saying NATO allies would "protect every inch" of member states' territory.

Among the spectators at the US Capitol was Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States. Many of the lawmakers present wore yellow and blue flags to show their support.

A U.S. defense official told reporters that according to U.S. estimates, Russia has fired more than 400 missiles since the attack began last Thursday. He added that Ukraine's air and missile defense systems are in place.

The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that more than 660,000 people, most of them women and children, had fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since Thursday. They say an estimated 4 million people could eventually flee Ukraine.

Some of the information in the report was taken from AP, AFP and Reuters.