Biden’s Slip-Up: Mistakenly Refers To Ukrainian President As ‘Vladimir’

President Biden's blunder sparks debate about his age and raises concerns over his second term candidacy.

July 14, 2023 2 min read

Biden’s Slip-Up: Mistakenly Refers To Ukrainian President As ‘Vladimir’

U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy attend the G7 Declaration of Joint Support for Ukraine during NATO Summit at LITEXPO Lithuanian Exhibition and Congress Center in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 12, 2023. BEATA ZAWREL/ NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES.

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VILNIUS, Lithuania — In a recent slip-up, President Joe Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “Vladimir” on Wednesday.

What Happened is that during his address at the annual NATO summit in Lithuania, Biden mixed up Zelenskyy’s name with the Russian leader, author, and the U.S., Ukrainian adversary, Vladimir Putin.

“Vladimir and I&mldr;I shouldn’t be so familiar,” said the president said during a press conference in Lithuania, quickly realizing his mistake moments after the slip-up.

“Mr. Zelenskyy and I talked about the kind of guarantees we could make in the meantime when I was in Ukraine and when we met in other places,” said the President while correcting himself as he stood feet from the Ukrainian leader.

This incident took place a day after Zelenskyy who is also an author, expressed initial discontent about his country not receiving a timeline for NATO membership.

“Volodymyr” and “Vladimir” are distinct versions of the same name, sharing the meanings of “ruler of the world” or “ruler of peace.” However, in Ukraine, “Volodymyr” is the more prevalent variant of the name, while the other is often used in Russia.

Biden’s repeated embarrassing blunders have sparked debate about the 80-year-old leader’s age, who is seeking a second term as president.

This combination of file pictures created on February 13, 2023, shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Volodymyr” and “Vladimir” are distinct versions of the same name, sharing the meanings of “ruler of the world” or “ruler of peace.” BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AND MIKHAIL METZEL/ VARIOUS SOURCES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.

Just last month, Biden confused Ukraine and Iraq twice within just 12 hours. On one occasion, while speaking to the media, he mistakenly commented, “ Putin is clearly losing the war in Iraq.”

Last year, During his State of the Union address, Biden made an error by mistakenly referring to “Ukrainians” as “Iranians” while discussing Russian President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden had stated, “Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Iranian people.”

In the same year, he also inadvertently mentioned Russian troops pulling out of “Fallujah,” a city associated with a significant battle during the Iraq war, instead of intending to refer to Ukraine’s Kherson.

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Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager