Russian President Vladimir Putin likely won’t respond to comments made by US President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address tonight — and Russian media is following suit, said Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow bureau chief and expert on Russia affairs.
“I think those personal comments by Joe Biden were probably things that would get under — into the craw of the Russian President. Things like ‘dictator, Putin alone is to blame, more isolated than ever.’ But I don’t think they’re going to engage in that, Dougherty said. “You know, you can’t really defend yourself by saying ‘no, I’m not a dictator.’ But what they can do is try to pick apart the argument.”
State of the Union: Biden started his address by condemning Putin’s invasion, calling him “a Russian dictator invading a foreign country.”
“Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated,” Biden said. “He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people.