In a Tuesday night interview, President Joe Biden said that in the event that Russian President Vladimir Putin launches a nuclear assault on Ukraine, the US military has a backup plan.
In recent weeks, the dictatorial leader has stepped up his rhetoric in response to two consecutive defeats for his unlawful invasion of the neighboring country.
For his part, Biden remained steadfast in his warning that the world would be on the verge of “armageddon” if Putin unleashes nuclear fury on Ukraine, despite accusations from detractors that the president has escalated the situation carelessly.
The president told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “He, in fact, cannot continue with impunity to speak about the deployment of a tactical nuclear bomb, as if that’s a sensible thing to do.”
“Mistakes happen, and calculations might be wrong.” Nobody can predict what would occur. Additionally, Armageddon might occur.
After a volley of Russian shellfire targeted noncombatant targets in many cities, including Kyiv, Biden also denounced Putin for “brutally” killing Ukrainian civilians.
When asked whether Putin will be on his agenda for the forthcoming G20 Summit, Biden said, “Look, he’s behaved ruthlessly. He behaved viciously. I believe that he has committed war crimes. I thus don’t see any need to meet with him right now.
In response to Putin’s increasingly belligerent warnings, Biden refrained from discussing any planning in-depth other than to acknowledge that it was happening.
There have been conversations about it, but I won’t get into them. The president replied, “It would be irresponsible of me to comment about what we would or wouldn’t do.”
Have you asked the Pentagon to play it out, though? Tapper questioned. I don’t know, just in case.
The president replied, “The Pentagon didn’t have to be asked.”
Biden also called Putin a ‘rational actor’ who went on a ‘irrational’ invasion of Ukraine – and was cautious to separate the two amid rising debates about the Russian president’s state of mind.
In a sneak peek of his primetime interview, Vice President Biden told CNN, “I think he is a rational actor who’s significantly miscalculated.”
The president highlighted the lead-up to Putin’s invasion earlier this year when ‘no one thought that he was going to attack Ukraine’ despite growing hostile language and a buildup of soldiers at the neighboring nation’s border.
‘You listen to what he says, if you listen to the speech he gave after when that decision was being made, he spoke about the entire notion of – he was, needed to be the leader of Russia that unified all the Russian speakers – I mean, it’s just, I just think it’s illogical,’ Biden added.
The Russian autocrat’s mental soundness had been the topic of question when he initially started the unprovoked assault in late February, when reports arose that his mind was changed by cancer medicines or steroids. None of those were ever verified.
Putin’s sanity is back under the world’s scrutiny again as he and his minions continue to make threats of unleashing nuclear power in Ukraine.
But during his Tuesday interview, Biden was cautious to emphasize a contrast between his Kremlin counterpart’s mentality and his ambitions for Kyiv.
When Tapper started to say, “So if he’s not rational-,” he interrupted the reporter.
Biden clarified, saying, “No, I didn’t say he’s not reasonable, I believe – I think the speech, his intentions are not rational.”
Putin undoubtedly assumed that his plan to annexe all of Ukraine into Russia would be “welcomed with open arms,” the author said.
“I believe he thought, Jake, that he was going to be received with open arms,” the president said. “I think he thought that this was the home of Mother Russia in Kyiv, and that’s where he was going to be welcomed.”
And I believe he just made a huge error in judgment.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched an extraordinary and effective counteroffensive to retake territory from Russia.
When an explosion partly destroyed the Kerch Strait Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula to Russian-occupied Kherson, Putin also suffered a setback.
Russia has responded to the defeats by launching indiscriminate missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.
At a fundraiser last weekend, Biden cautioned that if Putin’s battle intensifies, the world might face the threat of a nuclear “armageddon.”
Since then, several administration officials have said that they believe Russia’s nuclear posture has not changed, but Biden’s detractors have charged that he employed gratuitous rhetorical escalation.
Biden and the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, took part in an emergency G7 leaders meeting hours before Biden spoke with CNN on Tuesday.
They denounced Putin’s takeover of areas in the country’s east and Russia’s assaults on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The G7 also demanded that investigations into the enigmatic explosions that caused a leak in the Nord Stream pipes between Germany and Russia, which have been dormant because of the conflict, be kept going.
According to a White House statement, “We reassured President Zelenskyy that we remain undaunted and resolute in our commitment to giving the assistance Ukraine needs to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
For as long it takes, “We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic, and legal help and stand firmly with Ukraine.” We are devoted to helping Ukraine achieve its requirements for winter preparation.
Additionally, they threatened “grave repercussions” if Putin really used nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Zelensky requested stronger air defense systems from international leaders as the Russian invasion approached its eighth month at the end of October.