Biden: ‘We will continue to impose costs on Russia’

US President Joe Biden has denounced the Russian military’s missile strikes in Kiev and multiple regions of Ukraine, adding that the United States will continue to “impose costs on Russia.”

“These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes. Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.

Russia’s military struck Kiev and other Ukrainian cities on Monday with President Vladimir Putin warning of a “harsh” response in case of any further attacks such as that on the Crimean Bridge.

Kiev’s police officials say the blasts caused at least five deaths and twelve injuries there, but there are no details about the causalities in other cities.

Kiev mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, issued a statement via his official Telegram account, saying, “Several explosions in the Shevchenskivskyi district – in the center of the capital.”

At least 83 missiles were fired at Ukraine on Monday.

Biden called on Russia to end the war and remove its troops from Ukraine.

“They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr. Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people,” Biden said.

Russia’s defense ministry said it had hit “all designated targets” which included the Ukrainian military, communications and energy infrastructure, Russian news agencies said.

This comes as former US President Donald Trump has called for an immediate “peaceful end” to the seven-month war in Ukraine, warning that the conflict could escalate into another world war.

“We must demand the immediate negotiation of a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine, or we will end up in World War III and there will be nothing left of our planet,” Trump said, speaking at a “Save America” rally in Nevada on Saturday.

Biden said on Thursday that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use the country’s nuclear weapons in face of the Western nuclear aggression.

“This is not a bluff,” Putin said last month. “And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.”

Biden on Thursday said Putin was “a guy I know fairly well” and the Russian leader was “not joking when he talks about the use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons.”

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden added. He suggested the threat from Putin is real “because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.”