Joe Biden has accused Vladimir Putin of trying to "brutalize" the people of Ukraine.
Joe Biden has criticised Vladimir Putin
The US President suggested that the Russian leader is trying to make Ukraine capitulate as it is the "only tool" he has left during the ongoing conflict.
Biden made his comments in response to Putin declaring martial law in four annexed Ukrainian territories that have been seized by Russia in his latest attempt to impose control on the war-torn nation.
The move followed days of bombings and drone strikes that has left a third of Ukraine without power.
The president told reporters: "I think that Vladimir Putin finds himself in an incredibly difficult position.
"And what it reflects to me is, it seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens in Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens, to try to intimidate them into capitulating. They're not going to do that."
Biden also discussed oil releases from a US strategic reserve in an attempt to counteract the impacts of the war on Ukraine.
He said: "That's why I have been doing everything in my power to reduce gas prices since Putin's invasion of Ukraine caused these price hikes, these prices to spike and rattle international oil markets."
Biden also declined to respond to a question on whether he would meet Putin at the upcoming G20 summit in Indonesia.
It has been reported that the Biden administration is privately ruling out a meeting between the two leaders as the war in Ukraine drives the two nations apart.
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