Biden says Putin’s speech and targets in Ukraine are ‘irrational’ 1:02
(CNN) — Joe Biden, in an exclusive interview with CNN, said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “rational actor” who misjudged his ability to invade Ukraine and oppress its people.
“I think he’s a rational actor who’s miscalculated significantly,” Biden told Jake Tapper as the Russian bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine marked another turning point in the months-long war.
Biden, his top officials and other Western leaders have spent the past few months debating what steps Putin can take if his troops suffer embarrassing battlefield casualties in Ukraine. Biden himself warned last week that the risk of “nuclear Armageddon” was at its highest level in 60 years.
Whether Putin is acting rationally has been the subject of intense debate as leaders work to predict his next moves. And while Biden said Tuesday he believes Putin is reasonable, he called the Russian leader’s goals in Ukraine — which Putin angrily revealed in a speech as he started the war in February — as ridiculous.
“Listen to what he says. If you listen to the speech he gave after that decision was made, he talked about the idea that he had to be the leader of Russia that would unite all Russian speakers. I mean, I just think it’s irrational,” Biden said.
Biden went on to say that Putin mistakenly believed Ukrainians would bow to the Russian invasion, a miscalculation disproved by fierce opposition in the country.
“I think the speech, its goals… I think Jake, he thought he’d be welcomed with open arms, that this is Mother Russia’s home in Kyiv, and he’d be welcomed. And I think he totally miscalculated,” Biden said.
Indeed, a counter-offensive launched by Ukraine last month managed to retake areas previously held by the Russians, including key transport hubs. The casualties proved to be the latest major embarrassment for Russia, whose military has struggled over the course of the seven-month war.
Russia withdraws its troops and launches attacks on Ukrainian cities 1:43
This week, however, Russia launched one of its heaviest bombing campaigns since its invasion in late February. At least 19 people were killed and more than 100 wounded across the country, including in the western city of Lviv, hundreds of kilometers from the main theaters of war in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Biden spoke to Tapper just hours after a virtual meeting with members of the Group of 7 industrialized nations, who heard from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the need to strengthen his country’s air defenses in the face of renewed Russian bombing.
Zelenskyy said at the meeting that “joint efforts to create an air shield for Ukraine” must be intensified amid a barrage of Russian cruise missile and drone strikes.
White House officials said the United States stands ready to further strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, including through missile defense systems that Biden delivered over the summer.
However, Russia’s intense airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and civilian infrastructure indicated that Putin may employ new tactics aimed at terrorizing Ukrainians as winter approaches.