President Joe Biden warned Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was preparing a series of “consequential” and “sophisticated” attacks against the United States as he grows increasingly desperate in Ukraine.
“As I’ve said, the magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential,” Biden said. “And it’s coming.”
The president commented on Putin during a speech to America’s top CEOs at the Business Roundtable lobbying group meeting.
Biden recalled a conversation he had with Putin last year about cyberattacks and said he would respond severely if Russia launched an attack.
“We’ve had an altar call, he and I on this issue,” he said about Putin, but admitted it was “part of his playbook.”
He spoke proudly of the United States kneecapping Russia’s economy and thanked the American CEOs who announced their decision to take their business out of Russia.
“Putin’s back is against the wall, he wasn’t anticipating the extent and strength of our unity, and the more his back is against the wall, the greater severity of tactics that he’ll employ,” Biden said.
Biden called the private sector to bolster their cyber security, calling it their “patriotic obligation” to invest as much as possible into their defenses.
The president also warned Putin was also planning possible “false flag” operations to generate support for his military actions.
He complained that Putin kept asserting the Ukraine had biological and chemical weapons, repeating that the accusations were “simply not true.”
“Whenever he starts talking about something he thinks NATO, Ukraine, or the United States is about to do, it means he’s getting ready to do it,” Biden said. “Not a joke.”
Biden said Putin would suffer “severe consequences” if he did employ chemical weapons.
“The point is it’s real,” Biden said.