in 1997 when he was a U.S. senator. His earlier speech had discussed issues regarding Poland's request to join NATO. Speech Biden delivered his speech from the inner courtyard of the Royal Castle. The speech began at () and lasted 27 minutes. Biden opened his speech with a reference to Pope John Paul II and his message to "[b]e not afraid". The speech also paid tribute to Lech Wałęsa, leader of the Solidarity movement during the 1980s. Biden then compared the Russian invasion of Ukraine with events during the time of the Soviet Union, describing them all as part of a struggle between autocracy and democracy, and warned that there was still a "long fight ahead". He asserted that "the battle for democracy ... did not conclude with the end of the Cold War", and that Russia was "strangl[ing] democracy", both domestically and abroad. He then reaffirmed the commitment that NATO members had made under Article 5, calling it "a sacred obligation ... to defend each and every inch of NATO territory with the full force of our collective power". Biden also stated that the invading Russians had met "brave and stiff Ukrainian resistance", contrary to Putin's expectations. Biden also mentioned that he was "struck by the generosity of ... the Polish people" in their efforts to help Ukrainian refugees. Biden also reached out to the Russian people, stating that "the Russian people ... are not our enemy", and telling them that "this war is not worthy of you". Biden then listed three points that he said the invasion had made clear: (1) Europe must end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, (2) corruption in the Kremlin must be rooted out, and (3) democracies of the world must unite in a fight against autocracy. Biden described the last point, the fight against autocracy, as "the task of our time ... [t]he task of this generation". Near the end of his speech, immediately before he said his farewells, Biden referred to Putin when he stated, "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." This statement appeared to conflict with previously established U.S. policy, which had not advocated for a regime change. A Biden administration official stated that this remark was not part of the prepared speech. Minutes after the speech ended, the administration had already begun walking back the president's words. One of Biden's officials stated that Biden had meant