‘It was a mistake’: Zelensky defends Biden’s ‘President Putin’ gaffe

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has defended Joe Biden after being called “President Putin” by him, calling it “a mistake.”

The US president accidentally referred to Zelensky as “President Putin” when introducing Zelensky at a NATO event on Thursday, before correcting the name moments later.

While the US president – who faces mounting pressure over whether he is fit enough to serve another term in office – played down the gaffe at a high-stakes news conference later that day, the incident was scrutinized internationally.

Russian state media seized on Biden’s performance to further criticize the NATO alliance, saying it turned the event into “a farce.”

However, when asked by press at Ireland’s Shannon Airport Saturday what his reaction was to the error, Zelensky shrugged and said, “It was a mistake.”

“I think United States gave a lot of support for Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so,” he continued.

The US is providing Ukraine with much-needed military support in its war against Russia.

The Biden Administration announced a new $2.3 billion military aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday, and said an additional $2.2 billion will be purchased for Ukraine from US arms manufacturers under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which provides Kyiv with longer-term support.

Weeks earlier, the United States and Ukraine signed a bilateral security pact, which commits the US for 10 years to continued training of Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as more weapons support and intelligence sharing. Zelensky at the time described the security pact as “a bridge to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.”

In May, Biden also accepted a request from Ukraine for a change in policy, giving Ukraine permission to strike inside Russian territory, close to the Kharkiv border, with American munitions.