putin totally miscalculated by invading Ukraine - Biden
Photo: Reuters
The leader of the aggressor country, vladimir putin, was very wrong in his assessment of the prospects for occupying Ukraine, US President Joe Biden told CNN.
However, the US president considers putin a "rational actor."
"I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly," Biden told CNN's, Jake Tapper.
While Biden said he believed putin himself was rational, he characterized the russian leader's aims in Ukraine–which putin laid out in an angry speech as he launched the war in February–as ridiculous.
"You listen to what he says. If you listen to the speech he made after when that decision was being made, he talked about the whole idea of–he was needed to be the leader of Russia that united all of Russian speakers. I mean, it's just I just think it's irrational," Biden said.
Going further, Biden said putin wrongly believed Ukrainians would submit to russia's invasion–a misjudgment disproved by fierce resistance inside the country.
"I think the speech, his objectives were not rational. I think he thought, Jake, I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was the home of Mother Russia in Kyiv, and that where he was going to be welcomed, and I think he just totally miscalculated," he said.
When asked by interviewer Jake Tapper how realistic he believed it would be for Putin to use a tactical nuclear weapon, Biden responded: "Well, I don't think he will."
Earlier, Biden compared the current nuclear threats of the Kremlin with the Caribbean crisis of the 1960s, warning about the risk of a collision with "Armageddon."
In addition, Biden sharply reacted to the massive missile attack on Ukraine: "These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes."
"The United States strongly condemns Russia's missile strikes today across Ukraine, including in Kyiv. These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose. They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin's illegal war on the Ukrainian people," the US president said in a statement.
