{"id":54378,"date":"2022-05-29T18:36:12","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T18:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/29\/biden-tells-naval-academy-grads-putin-nato-ized-europe\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:42:45","slug":"biden-tells-naval-academy-grads-putin-nato-ized-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/2022\/05\/29\/biden-tells-naval-academy-grads-putin-nato-ized-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden tells Naval Academy grads Putin \u2018NATO-ized Europe\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland \u2014 President Joe Biden told Naval Academy graduates<\/a> Friday that they will be \u201crepresentatives and defenders of our democracy,\u201d as free societies are under threat, from Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine to China\u2019s maritime expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivering a commencement address to more than 1,000 newly commissioned ensigns and second lieutenants at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Biden said the Western response<\/a> to Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s \u201cbrutal\u201d war<\/a> in Ukraine shows the world is aligning not on geography, \u201cbut in terms of values.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called the invasion, \u201cA direct assault on the fundamental tenets of rules-based international order,\u201d adding, \u201cthat\u2019s the world you\u2019re graduating into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graduating midshipmen take their oath during the U.S. Naval Academy’s graduation and commissioning ceremony at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\t