Biden says Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to ‘Tiananmen Square squared’ moments

• Biden said that some images of Russia’s war in Ukraine are “Tiananmen Square squared.”
• His comments come as Russia’s war in Ukraine stretches past a month since its large-scale invasion.
• Biden is in Poland to learn more about the refugee crisis and to meet with US troops stationed there.

President Joe Biden on Friday compared one of the harrowing images of Russia’s war in Ukraine to China’s brutal assault on protesters in Tiananmen Square, a statement that comes as Washington and Beijing cautiously eye each other over the future direction of the current war.

“When you see a 30-year-old woman standing there in front of a tank with a rifle — I mean, talk about what happened in Tiananmen Square, that’s Tiananmen Square squared,” Biden told reporters during a joint briefing on the refugee crisis with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Biden later lamented that he could not meet with refugees himself, which he previously expressed hope for doing so. Over 3 million Ukrainians are estimated to have fled their homes since Russia began turning the nation’s largest cities into warzones. Biden on Thursday said that the US would welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and devote over $1 billion in humanitarian aid. 

“Quite frankly, part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand like I have in other places. They will not let me, understandably, I guess, cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” he said.

Biden is visiting Europe as part of a trip to show western resolve after Russia’s invasion. He attended emergency meetings of the G7 and NATO in Brussels before traveling to Poland to learn more about the humanitarian response and meet with US troops who were deployed to Poland.

Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke last week amid US fears that China could assist Russia in its now monthlong war.

Beijing heavily censors any references to the People Liberation Army’s 1989 crackdown that left hundreds dead and spawned the iconic image of “Tank Man” in Tiananmen Square. During the 30th anniversary in 2019, some top Chinese officials defended the crackdown.