By Fred Lucas and Jarrett Stepman and Douglas Blair and Virginia Allen ~

In his first official State of the Union speech, President Joe Biden on Tuesday night addressed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation at home, an ongoing border crisis, plummeting approval numbers and a fading pandemic.

Biden, who also spoke to a joint session of Congress last April, made numerous assertions in his State of the Union address, which lasted just over an hour.

Here’s a fact check of some of the president’s assertions, to  be expanded throughout the evening.

‘We Were Ready’ for Putin’s Invasion

President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address Tuesday night before a joint session of Congress. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden addressed the biggest issue in international politics—Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unfolding invasion of Ukraine, and the response from the United States and its allies.

“Throughout our history…