In Normandy, Biden pledges continued Ukraine support against Russia at D-Day commemoration

PHOTO CAPTION: U.S President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron attend a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

By Jeff Mason, Elizabeth Pineau and John Irish

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden made an impassioned call for the defence of freedom and democracy at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy on Thursday, urging Western powers to stay the course with Ukraine and not surrender to Russian tyranny.

At a joint ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery, Biden said it was "simply unthinkable" to surrender to Russian aggression and he promised no let-up in support of Ukraine.

He urged Western and NATO allies to recapture the spirit of D-Day and work together at a time when he said democracy was under greater threat than at any time since the end of World War Two.

"Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago and is not the answer today," Biden said in his speech.

On June 6, 1944, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded France by sea and air to drive out the forces of Nazi Germany, coming ashore at five beaches codenamed Omaha, Juno, Sword, Utah and Gold or dropping from the sky.

With the numbers of veterans, many aged 100 or more, fast dwindling, this is likely to be the last major ceremony in Normandy honouring them in their presence.

Biden said it was the highest honour to salute the assembled U.S. veterans, turning away from the podium to tell them: "God love ya."

"The men who fought here became heroes," he said. "They knew beyond any doubt there are things that are worth fighting and dying for."

With war raging in Ukraine on Europe's borders, the anniversary of this turning point in World War Two carries special resonance. It takes place in a year of many elections, including for the European Parliament this week and in the U.S. in November.

Critics fear former President Donald Trump, who will go head-to-head with Biden in the election, will reduce U.S. support for Ukraine.

Speaking at a British ceremony in Ver-sur-Mer earlier on Thursday, Britain's King Charles, in full military uniform, also urged greater international collaboration to fight for peace.

"We recall the lesson that comes to us again and again across the decades: free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny," said Charles, who spoke in both French and English.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and many others will also take part in the day of tributes.

But Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, touching off Europe's biggest armed conflict since World War Two, was not invited.

Leaders were set to adopt on Thursday a declaration saying democracy was once more under threat in Europe and promising to defend freedom and democracy, two sources said.

Some 200 veterans, most of them American or British, were taking part in ceremonies throughout the day on windswept beaches that still bear the scars of the fighting that erupted on D-Day, history's largest amphibious invasion. Thousands of service personnel from Britain, the United States, Canada and other nations were killed, as well as their German foes.

At the U.S. ceremony in Colleville-sur-Mer, where row after row of white marble crosses - some with names, some unmarked - show the toll the invasion took on allied forces, Macron awarded the Legion d'Honneur to U.S. veterans. Many were in wheelchairs, sporting caps that read "WWII veteran."

"You are back here today at home, if I may say," Macron told American veterans in English, saying France would not forget their sacrifice.

Underlining their often frail health, the U.S. Embassy said the last surviving Native American veteran was gravely ill.

At Omaha Beach, the largest of the D-Day landing areas, where about 2,400 U.S. servicemen lost their lives on June 6, 1944, more than 20 heads of state and government were due to attend an international ceremony later in the day.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, John Irish, Lucien Libert, Jeff Mason in Normandy, Muvija M and William James in London; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Toby Chopra and Angus MacSwan)