An elderly lady pauses after fleeing Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 8, 2022. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)

I joined China Radio International on Monday to deal with the brief media furor over US President Joe Biden’s statement, in a speech in Poland, about Vladimir Putin: “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

I explain why Biden is not heralding “regime change”, a line invoked by Russia to turn itself from aggressor into victim, and to divert attention to Washington and the 2003 Iraq War. I note how the headlines distract from the important issues: not only in Biden’s speech but in more important statements by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in an interview with independent Russian journalists, about the war and the future for Ukrainians.

Listen to Discussion from 34:02

Ukraine, Day 34: A Putin Concession on Kyiv Joining the European Union?