Biden says that Putin has lost the war and hopes that Ukraine’s counterattack will lead to negotiations with Russia

The US President Joe Biden considered Thursday that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has lost the war in Ukraine, in light of Moscow’s suffering from a lack of resources and economic difficulties, and expressed his hope that the Ukrainian counterattack would lead to negotiations with Russia to end the war.
“He can end the war tomorrow, all he has to say is stop,” Biden said during a press conference in Helsinki to celebrate Finland’s recent accession to NATO.
“But it’s impossible for him to win the war in Ukraine… he lost it,” he added.
Despite the slow progress of Ukrainian forces on the front, Biden confirmed that he expected the Ukrainian counteroffensive to lead to negotiations with Russia to end the war.
“I hope and expect that, as you will see, Ukraine will make significant progress in its offensive and that this will lead to a negotiated settlement at some point,” he said.
Faced with frustration shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at not being given a clear timetable for his country’s NATO accession process at the Vilnius summit on Tuesday and Wednesday, Biden reiterated his promise to bring Ukraine into the bloc, but made clear that that could not happen as long as Kiev remained at war with Moscow.
“It’s not about whether or not they can join… It’s about timing, and they will join NATO,” Biden said.
On Thursday, the Russian president Vladimir Putin said in a televised interview that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would exacerbate tensions on the international scene.
For its part, Russia carried out raids on Ukraine on Thursday and spoke of a nuclear threat in response to the support shown by NATO to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that it had shot down 20 Russian drones and 2 cruise missiles overnight.
The Ukrainian authorities announced Thursday that the night raids on Kiev resulted in the injury of at least four people.
On Wednesday, the G7 countries pledged during the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to provide long-term military support to Ukraine.
This announcement angered Moscow, which warned, through its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, that the F16 fighters that will be delivered to Ukraine will be considered by Moscow as a Western nuclear threat.
On Thursday, Putin considered that the Western missiles Kiev receives didn’t radically change the course of the fighting on the battlefield in Ukraine, saying, “Nothing decisive happens in the combat zones where these missiles were used… The same applies to foreign-made tanks”.
Meanwhile, Biden ruled out that his Russian counterpart would use nuclear weapons, saying, “I don’t think there is a real possibility that Putin will use nuclear weapons… Not only the West, but also China and the rest of the world said it: Don’t make that choice”.
The Netherlands and Denmark are leading a plan to train Ukrainian pilots to use the US-made aircraft as part of an alliance of 11 countries.
Biden arrived on Wednesday evening in Finland, which joined NATO in April, to conclude the European tour that began Sunday evening in London.
Finland turned the page of neutrality that had lasted for decades at the request of Russia after World War II, then military non-alignment since the end of the Cold War, and on April 4, the country became the thirty-first member of NATO, which represents a setback for Moscow.
Finland, which shares more than 1,300 kilometers of borders with Russia until the invasion of Ukraine, was an advocate of dialogue between the West and Russia, and a carrier of messages to Vladimir Putin.
The country is now among the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in Europe.
Biden also touched on the failed rebellion led by the Russian armed group Wagner, stressing the need for its president to be wary of the possibility of his poisoning.
“Only God knows what he can do… We’re not even sure where he is and who he’s in contact with… If I were him, I would be careful of what I eat,” Biden said.
He also affirmed his determination to do everything in his power to free the Wall Street Journal correspondent, the American journalist who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than 100 days, Ivan Gershkovich.