Biden says Putin’s only tool now is to ‘brutalize’ after he declares martial law in Ukrainian regions

President Biden on Wednesday said that Vladimir Putin’s only available tool right now in his war against Ukraine is the brutalization of its citizens, in the wake of the Russian president declaring martial law in the four Ukrainian regions he recently annexed.

“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,” Biden told reporters. 

“They’re not going to do that,” he added.

The president has projected confidence in the Ukrainian people since Russia first invaded the country in February, consistently saying that they will not back down from defending Ukraine. 

Putin launched his latest round of drone strikes on Kyiv on Monday, taking aim at infrastructure to harm civilians.

At least three people were killed, including a young couple expecting a child, as 28 drones pounded on the capital.

The escalation follows setbacks for the Russian military while Ukrainian forces have continued to make major gains. 

Putin’s martial law order goes into effect on Thursday in the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and gives additional emergency powers to regional leaders in Russia.

Draft legislation reportedly suggests that the order may include restrictions on travel and public gatherings, increased censorship and expanded law enforcement authority.