It’s a cold war of words.
In an interview aired Wednesday, President Joe Biden identified Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “killer.” Biden said the Russian president “would pay a price” for trying to interfere in the 2020 election. (A recently declassified report from the US intelligence community asserts that the Kremlin tried to help Donal Trump get re-elected.)
Following Biden’s criticism of Putin and his government, the Kremlin recalled their U.S. ambassador.
On Thursday, Putin suggested that the U.S. has no moral authority to criticize Russia. The autocratic strongman pointed to America’s history of racial injustice, Native American exploitation, and the use of the atomic bomb in World War II.
The former KGB agent even dabbled in pop psychology, explaining that the U.S. is projecting its misdeeds on other nations: “In childhood, when we argued with each other, we said: ‘He who calls names is called that himself.’ This is no coincidence, this is not just a childish joke, it has a very deep psychological meaning.”
Putin – who’s been credibly accused of poisoning, then arresting, his chief political rival – added that he wished Biden “health.”
Other Russian officials were less cagey. Andrei Turchak, the leader of the United Russia party, referenced Biden’s “dementia.” And Konstantin Kosachev, a deputy speaker of the Russian parliament’s upper house, said Biden’s comments risk causing a break in US-Russia relations.
The Biden administration has emphasized a new American tone toward Russia, particularity following the SolarWinds hack. The recent cyber attack – thought to be orchestrated by Russian intelligence – allowed unauthorized access to the systems of nine federal agencies and 100 private companies.
