"We are stronger today than we were a year ago," the president said.
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address as Russian strikes were killing civilians, forces were massing near Ukraine's capital Kyiv and Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no sign of backing down.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden left the White House just a few moments ago for the short drive up Pennsylvania Avenue to the U.S. Capitol, where the president will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight.
Biden did not respond to a shouted question asking if Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed war crimes in Ukraine.
-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez
Biden tonight will touch on his plan to address crime and make the case for more community-based policing, rather than defunding the police, a White House official told ABC News.
"He'll make clear that the answer is not to defund the police, it’s to put more police -- with better training and more accountability -- out to take back our streets and make our neighborhoods safer," the White House official said. "And he’ll talk about the steps his administration has taken -- and will continue to take -- to advance that accountability and rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve."
Biden will also call on Congress to address gun violence, and pass "common-sense" gun violence legislation that will save lives, according to the official.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
The nation's capital has ramped up security ahead of Biden's first State of the Union address tonight.
Up to 700 National Guard troops have been made available to assist local law enforcement, and a controversial inner-perimeter fence once again surrounds the U.S. Capitol.
The U.S. Capitol Police have also been working in tandem with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on a "security plan to prevent any disruption to the important work of Congress," Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said in a statement earlier this week.
-ABC News' Noah Minnie
For more live coverage of the State of the Union, head to FiveThirtyEight, which is providing updates on Biden's address as well as the Texas primary election.
"Given the current state of affairs, both foreign and domestic, tonight is a big night for the president," writes FiveThirtyEight politics reporter Alex Samuels.
