Biden says Putin 'totally miscalculated' with assault on Ukraine

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin "totally miscalculated" when he chose to begin his war against Ukraine.

“I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly," the president said in an interview with CNN that will be aired in full later Tuesday evening.

“You listen to what he says. If you listen to the speech he made after when that decision was being made, he talked about the whole idea of – he was needed to be the leader of Russia that united all of Russian speakers. I mean, it’s just I just think it’s irrational," Biden added.

Biden said Putin miscalculated insofar as he believed Ukraine would submit after he began his offensive in February, saying "his objectives were not rational."

"I think he thought he was going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was the home of Mother Russia in Kyiv, and that where he was going to be welcomed, and I think he just totally miscalculated," he added.

The comments come as Ukraine continue to push its counteroffensive against Russian forces that has seen sweeping gains in the country's northeast, and major inroads in the southern Kherson region.

The counteroffensive has brought back under Ukrainian control major supply and logistics hubs, and led to significant amounts of Russian armaments being added to Ukraine's stockpiles.