- CNN’s President Joe Biden stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “rational actor”.
- The president said that Putin had made a mistake in thinking that Ukraine would soon collapse.
- Russia launched its biggest attack on Ukraine since the outbreak of war Monday
Although President Joe Biden believes Vladimir Putin committed a grave error in invading Ukraine he cautioned against underestimating the Russian leader.
“I believe he is a rational actor that has significantly miscalculated,” Biden stated this in an interview on Tuesday with Jake Tapper of CNN.
He made his comment just a day after Russia released a Barrage of missiles in 14 regions of Ukraine — one of the largest assaults against the country since the invasion began in February. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, at least 19 people were killed in the strike.
Biden and the leaders of the Group of 7 countries met virtually on Tuesday to discuss ways that countries could strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.
In a joint statement, the G7 leaders stated that they will continue to support Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic assistance.
Biden describes Putin as a rationally-thinking leader after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s veiled threat to nuclear war.
Putin declared after he announced a partial militarization on September 21, that “those who try and blackmail us with nukes should know that they can be swept in our direction.”
Experts and world leaders debated long about how to interpret Putin’s warning.
Putin is “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is… underperforming,” Biden declared last week:It is being called the most serious threat to the country since the Cuban missile crisis.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized Putin’s comments at the United Nations General Assembly.
Insider has been told by analysts that Putin’s threat should be cause for concern, but that the likelihood of nuclear war is still low.
Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project of the Federation of American Scientists. told Insider last month that the threats reflect a change in Putin’s rhetoric around nuclear warfare, but that it’s still yet to be determined if it means a change in “actual planning.”
He said that people should remain “extraordinarily worried” and that Russia should make “very deliberate efforts to be convinced of the consequences of taking this conflict to the next stage.
Biden, when discussing Putin’s intentions in Ukraine, questioned the Russian leader’s decision. He said that Putin misjudged Ukraine if it thought it would collapse immediately.
He stated that his objectives were not rational. He said that he believed he would be welcomed with open arms. This was Kyiv’s home to Mother Russia, which is where he would be welcome. I believe he miscalculated.”
