Biden warns Putin: You have 'no idea what's coming'

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (AP)Premium
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov prepare to toast at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (AP)
1 min read . Updated: 02 Mar 2022, 01:33 PM IST Livemint

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Russia to stop bombarding civilians and resume talks.

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U.S. President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader "has no idea what's coming", as Western nations tightened an economic noose around Russia, whose invading forces bombarded Ukrainian cities and appeared poised for an advance on Kyiv.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have fled the fighting since Putin ordered a full-scale invasion nearly a week ago, with a miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv readying to advance on the capital.

Russian forces had taken control of Kherson, a city of nearly a quarter million people just north of Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, a Russian defence ministry spokesperson said.

"While he may make gains on the battlefield – he will pay a continuing high price over the long run," Biden said in his State of the Union address. Straying from the prepared text, Biden added "He has no idea what's coming." He did not elaborate.

Putin ordered the "special military operation" last Thursday in a bid to disarm Ukraine, capture the "neo-Nazis" he says are running the democratic country of 44 million people and crush its hopes of closer ties to the West.

Russia's assault included strikes on Kyiv, though the heaviest bombardment appears to be around Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv, near the border with Russia.

At least 21 people were killed and 112 wounded in shelling in Kharkiv in the last 24 hours, regional governor Oleg Synegubov said on Wednesday.

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