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President Joe Biden said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s ‘back is against the wall,’ as he said Russia launched a ‘hypersonic missile’ at Ukraine in part due to the strength of Ukrainian defenses.
‘They’re wreaking havoc on on the, on the Russian military, whether it’s their tanks or their helicopters or their aircraft,’ Biden said.
He spoke after the Kremlin claimed it used its state-of-the-art military hardware to take out a Ukrainian weapons storage facility. The Pentagon on Monday would not confirm the claim.
‘And if you notice, they’ve just launched their hypersonic missile, because it’s the only thing that they can get through without absolute certainty,’ Biden said. ‘It’s, as you all know, it’s a consequential weapon, but with the same warhead on it as any other launched missile – it doesn’t make that much difference except it’s almost impossible to stop it. There’s a reason they’re using it.’
‘And now Putin’s back is against the wall. He wasn’t anticipating the extent or strength of our unity. And the more his back is against the wall, the greater severity, the tactics he may employ,’ Biden said.
President Joe Biden confirmed Russia’s use of a hypersonic missile during its invasion of Ukraine
Some military experts questioned why the Russians would use the weapon, if not to use Ukraine as a test run and send a political message.
The missiles are believed to fly at ten times the speed of sound, and be able to evade air defenses.
Biden lauded companies who are pulling out of Russia in response to its invasion. The U.S. slapped sanctions on Russian energy companies, but not on entities that do business with Russia.
‘I’m pleased to see American companies stepping up and doing their part in what you’re doing in terms of donating to Ukraine, and winding down your operations without anybody requesting – I want to make that clear – you’re on your own winding down operations in Russia. not all but many have, not only you but around the world.’
He spoke of the upcoming emergency meeting of NATO that Biden will attend Thursday in Brussels. ‘But one thing I’m confident knowing Putin fairly well, as well as I guess another leader can know one another is that he was counting on being able to split NATO he never thought NATO would stay resolved,’ he said.
Biden also further elevated concerns about a potential Russian cyber attack on U.S. targets.
‘But look, today my administration issued a new warnings that based on evolving intelligence, Russia may be planning a cyber attack against us,’ Biden said. ‘As I said, the magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential and it’s coming.’
KYIV, UKRAINE – MARCH 21: Firefighters work at site after Russian attacks struck a shopping mall, in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 21, 2022. The Kremlin says it used a hypersonic missile to take out a Ukrainian arms facility
An unexploded rocket is pictured in the cemetery of Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, on March 21, 2022
Biden and White House officials met with top CEOs Monday including Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan and Darren Woods of ExxonMobil
Biden also accused Putin of setting up ‘false flag’ operations by asserting that the U.S. had ‘biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe – simply not true.’
He spoke after top officials including Biden met with 16 CEOs to discuss energy, food, and manufacturing in the wake of the invasion, the White House confirmed.
‘They conveyed the Administration’s commitment to continue imposing heavy costs on Putin to degrade Russia’s war machine and support the people of Ukraine, while taking concrete actions to mitigate the price increases on American consumers caused by Putin’s action. Participants also discussed the need to work together to address Putin’s disruptions to global markets and supply chains, especially for energy and agricultural commodities, and identify alternative sources of supply for key goods. The private sector and the Administration committed to close communication and coordination going forward.’
Taking part were the heads of ExxonMobil, Bank of America, ConocoPhillips, JP MOrgan, Land O’Lakes, Cargill Inc, and other firms, Reuters reported.
They spoke about supply chain issues. Attending were national security advisor Jake Sullivan, Economic Council Director Brian Deese, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Source: DailyMail
