Joe Biden calls Vladimir Putin a 'butcher' in meeting with Ukrainian refugees in Poland

US President Joe Biden traveled to Poland last week, where he met and spoke with Ukrainian refugees who fled the ongoing conflict in Ukraine for safety in Warsaw. During his meeting with the refugees, Biden described his Russian counterpart as a “butcher” following the unprovoked invasion by Russia into Ukraine.

Reuters reports Biden visited a refugee reception center in Poland’s capital Warsaw, where he met and spoke with Ukrainians who fled the country to seek refuge in Poland. The US leader was pressed on the impact of the decision that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin made to invade Ukraine back in February on the Ukrainian people. Biden said that Putin was a “butcher.”

Over the weekend, Biden also dropped by the meeting between Ukraine’s foreign and defense ministers Dymytro Kuleba and Oleksii Reznikov with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Kuleba later told the press that Washington has made additional security pledges to Ukraine regarding the development of defense cooperation.

“President Biden said what is happening in Ukraine will change the history of the 21st century, and we will work together to ensure that this change is in our favor, in Ukraine’s favor, in the favor of the democratic world,” said Kuleba.

Biden also spoke with his Polish counterpart, President Andrzej Duda, where the US leader reiterated Washington’s commitment to protecting every inch of NATO territory. Poland is a NATO member country.

In other related news, Biden is set to propose a new minimum tax that would mainly target billionaires as he introduces his 2023 budget, according to documents obtained by CNBC. The new minimum tax would be called the “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax” that would assess a 20 percent minimum tax rate on the country’s richest households worth over $100 million. More than half the revenue would come from those worth over $1 billion.

The proposal is expected to reduce the deficit by around $360 billion in the coming decade. If a wealthy household is already paying 20 percent on their full income, they would not need to pay an additional tax from the proposal. If they pay less than 20 percent, they will pay a “top-up payment” to meet the new minimum.