US President Joe Biden said in an interview for the CNN broadcaster that Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin made a mistake when assessing Moscow's ability to occupy Ukraine.
"I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly," Biden said during the interview.
"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 said.
Last week, Biden said the world risks "nuclear Armageddon" amid threats from Kremlin officials.
However, when asked on Tuesday on the likelihood that Putin could use a nuclear weapon, Biden said "I don't think he will."
Here's more news concerning Russia's war on Ukraine from Wednesday, October 12:
Zelenskyy calls for 'air shield' following Russian strikes
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the G7 countries to help Kyiv establish an "air shield" following Russian strikes on a number of major Ukrainian cities.
Zelenskyy said that "millions of people would be grateful" for the shield. He added that Russia "still has room for further escalation" beyond Monday's missile strikes.
Ukraine's president said that Russia had fired an additional 28 missiles on Ukraine on Tuesday. He said that 15 drones, which were "mainly Iranian drones," were involved in the attacks, and that most of the drones had been shot down.
Ukraine's general staff said that there had been attacks on more than two dozen cities and villages across the country.
Earlier, Ukrainian officials said that seven people were killed after an attack on the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
Germany's Lambrecht says Putin's 'contempt for people' increases
Separately, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said Russia was "terrorizing" civilians in Ukraine.
"Our support for Kyiv must continue unabated," Lambrecht said at a meeting of NATO ministers.
"With the missile bombardment on Ukrainian cities, Putin is shamelessly terrorizing the civilian population," said the German defense minister. "His contempt for people clearly increases alongside the failure of his plans."
Former US Army commander calls for condemnation of Russian strikes
Former commander of the US army in Europe Ben Hodges told DW that the international community label Russia's latest attacks on Ukrainian cities as war crimes.
Hodges said that the name of each individual officer responsible for launching the missiles should be released. "The whole world should know who they are," he said.
He also urged Western countries to provide Ukraine with more air defenses.
"All of us have got to continue to find ways to protect these European civilians who are being murdered by Russian missiles. That means more air defense systems," Hodges said.
Hodges said that Russia's military was losing in Ukraine and that it needed to keep the conflict to undermine Western support.
"The Russians know this. So, their only hope is to try to prolong the conflict and to cause us to lose will to support Ukraine. They surely are not going to break the will of the Ukrainian people," he said.
