President Joe Biden on Thursday issued a fierce critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin while defending his decision give Ukraine permission to carry out limited strikes within Russia using US weapons.
“I’ve known [Putin] for over 40 years -– he’s concerned me for 40 years,” Biden told ABC News’ David Muir. “He’s not a decent man -– he’s a dictator, and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going.
“We’re not talking about giving [Ukraine] weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin, to strike – it’s just across the border, where they’re receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into the Ukraine, to kill the Ukrainians,” the president said, appearing to exaggerate how long he had been aware of Putin given that the Russian leader was serving as a KGB agent in East Germany 40 years ago.
Biden’s decision to loosen restrictions around the use of US weapons in Ukraine came after Russia made significant advances around the city in the northeastern part of the country close to the Russian border.
While it marked a break from long-standing policy, it is limited to the area around Kharkiv, and Ukraine has not requested permission beyond that, a US official previously told CNN, adding that they do not anticipate the US widening the area allowed.
On Wednesday, Putin warned Western countries they’re taking a “very serious and dangerous step” by supplying weapons to Ukraine, which could result in Moscow arming their enemies.
“Supplying weapons to a conflict zone is always a bad thing,” Putin told editors from international news agencies on the sidelines of the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. “Especially if this is linked to the fact that those who supply them are not only delivering weapons but managing them.”
Biden, however, insisted Thursday, “They’re authorized to be used in proximity to the border. We’re not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia, we’re not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”
The initial limits preventing Ukraine from firing into Russian territory with US weaponry were rooted in the Biden administration’s concerns about the war escalating. While those concerns remain, the US moved to change position after the Ukrainian government explicitly cited the need to defend Kharkiv, European allies began changing tack and NATO leadership quietly urged the US to allow such strikes.
