--- title: Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Calling Him 'Putin' description: Ukraine's Zelensky was asked about Biden's name gaffe when he touched down in Ireland on July 13. canonical: https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-07-13T15:59:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T17:56:25.287Z article:section: Politics og:title: Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Calling Him 'Putin' og:description: Ukraine's Zelensky was asked about Biden's name gaffe when he touched down in Ireland on July 13. og:url: https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d055a224500d579/698a58b19d83e8d1feb9a4ba/GettyImages-2161678323.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: World Leaders Attend NATO Summit In Washington, D.C. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Calling Him 'Putin' twitter:description: Ukraine's Zelensky was asked about Biden's name gaffe when he touched down in Ireland on July 13. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d055a224500d579/698a58b19d83e8d1feb9a4ba/GettyImages-2161678323.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ukraine's Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Mistakenly Calling Him 'President Putin'  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jul 13, 2024 3:59 PM UTC  U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the launching of the Ukraine Compact at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky participated in the launching of the Ukraine Compact at the 2024 NATO Summit on July 11, 2024, in Washington, D.C.Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Jul 13, 2024 3:59 PM UTC Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky broke his silence after U.S. President [Joe Biden mistakenly called him “President Putin”](https://time.com/6997620/biden-zelensky-putin-press-conference/) at the NATO Summit on Thursday. Zelensky encountered reporters on Saturday, July 13, soon after he touched down at Shannon Airport in County Clare, Ireland, where he was greeted by Irish Taoiseach \[Prime Minister\] Simon Harris. When [a journalist asked about Biden’s error](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-putin-soldiers-fighter-jets-assassination-b2579156.html), Zelensky said: “It’s a mistake. I think the United States gave a lot of support to Ukrainians. We can forget some mistakes, I think so.” Currently, the U.S. is providing military support to Ukraine in its war with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, [who invaded Ukraine in February 2022](https://time.com/6150708/russia-ukraine-invasion-war/). Since the invasion, [the U.S. has committed more than $52 billion](https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12040#:~:text=Since%20then%2C%20the%20United%20States,%29%20%28see%20Table%201%29.) in security assistance to support “Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s aggression, secure its borders, and improve interoperability with NATO,” according to the Department of Defense. > [](https://twitter.com/gataveckaite/status/1812092426900722124) Biden’s gaffe involving Zelensky’s name came at a pivotal moment in his campaign leading up to November’s presidential election, as some Democrats [are calling for him to drop out](https://time.com/6994628/democrats-biden-drop-out/). There is mounting concern about Biden’s ability to perform against Donald Trump. This has been exacerbated by the President’s much-criticized performance at the first debate, and subsequent stumbles. **Read More:** [_Inside Andriy Yermak’s Quest for Peace in Ukraine_](https://time.com/6991211/andriy-yermak-peace-in-ukraine/) "Now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin," Biden said at the NATO summit, celebrating the alliance’s 75 year anniversary. Audible gasps were heard throughout the room, and some people called out, “Zelensky!” to correct Biden. Biden then amended his mistake. Returning to the microphone, he clarified: "We’re gonna beat President Putin. President Zelensky. I was so focused on beating Putin." Zelensky and Harris’ meeting comes four days after a major Kyiv children’s hospital was struck [by a Russian missile](https://time.com/6996314/kyiv-mourns-childrens-hospital-missile/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/"},"headline":"Ukraine's Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Mistakenly Calling Him 'President Putin'","datePublished":"2024-07-13T15:59:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:56:25.287Z","description":"Ukraine's Zelensky was asked about Biden's name gaffe by reporters when he arrived in Ireland.","url":"https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/","keywords":["Joe Biden","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d055a224500d579/698a58b19d83e8d1feb9a4ba/GettyImages-2161678323.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rebecca Schneid","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d055a224500d579/698a58b19d83e8d1feb9a4ba/GettyImages-2161678323.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"World Leaders Attend NATO Summit In Washington, D.C.","caption":"World Leaders Attend NATO Summit In Washington, D.C.","creditText":"Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/joe-biden/","name":"Joe Biden"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6998204/ukraine-zelensky-speaks-out-president-biden-name-mistake-putin/","name":"Ukraine's Zelensky Breaks Silence Over Biden Mistakenly Calling Him 'President Putin'"}}]}] ```