►The U.N. human rights office says Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on Monday were “particularly shocking” and could amount to war crimes.
►Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. says it is pulling out of Russia and plans to sell its operations to its Russian partner.
President Joe Biden doesn’t question the sanity of his Russian counterpart, but he believes Vladimir Putin’s objectives weren’t realistic when he launched an invasion of Ukraine in February.
More than seven months later, Russia has sustained repeated embarrassing losses on the battlefield, prompting Putin to lash out this week with a barrage of missile strikes across Ukraine that killed tens of civilians, damaged energy infrastructure and destroyed dwellings, but accomplished little militarily.
“I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly,” Biden told CNN in an interview scheduled to air Tuesday night.
Putin’s state of mind has been the subject of considerable speculation as analysts ponder whether he would take the extreme measure of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Putin’s actions, including ordering a highly unpopular mobilization of civilians, have seemed more desperate as the war’s momentum shifted in Ukraine’s favor.
“I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was the home of Mother Russia in Kyiv … and I think he just totally miscalculated,” Biden told the network.
Comments