Biden Says He’s ‘Known’ Russia’s Vladimir Putin ‘for Over 40 Years’ — Even During His Undercover KGB Years

President Biden claimed on Thursday that he has “known” Vladimir Putin “for over 40 years” — despite Russia’s president having served as an undercover KGB intelligence officer throughout the 1980s.

“I’ve known him for over 40 years. He’s concerned me for 40 years. He’s not a decent man,” Biden, 81, told ABC News anchor David Muir during an interview in France at the Normandy American Cemetery to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.ABC News

“I’ve known him for over 40 years. He’s concerned me for 40 years. He’s not a decent man,” Biden, 81, told ABC News anchor David Muir during an interview in France at the Normandy American Cemetery to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Putin served as a foreign intelligence officer in the Soviet Union’s spy network from 1975 to 1991, with postings in his hometown of St. Petersburg and East Germany before he retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Putin worked as an intelligence officer in the Soviet Union’s spy network from 1975 to 1991, with postings in his hometown of St. Petersburg and the former East Germany before retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

This makes it highly unlikely Biden was aware of the future US adversary’s existence as early as he claimed.

Biden and Putin met at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2021, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.AP

After his KGB career, Putin served as an aide to St. Petersburg’s then-mayor Anatoly Sobchak and as deputy mayor from 1991 to 1996. He later held positions at the Kremlin and headed the Federal Security Service, which succeeded the KGB after the USSR’s collapse in 1991, according to The Guardian.

According to the Washington Post, “until he was handpicked in August 1999 by then-President Boris Yeltsin to become prime minister, Putin had never been a public figure.”

Biden did meet Putin at least once when he was serving as US vice president and Putin was Russia’s prime minister. The two also spoke at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2021.

The Post has reached out to the White House for comment.

In his Thursday interview, Biden emphasized that the permission he recently gave for Ukraine to use US weapons only allowed for strikes inside the Russian-occupied Kharkiv region.

“They’re authorized to be used in proximity to the border when they’re being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine,” the president said. “We’re not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia and we’re not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”

Putin stated on Wednesday that the US supply of weapons to Ukraine and authorization of their use was a “direct participation in the war against the Russian Federation” and that the Kremlin would “reserve the right to act in a similar way,” referencing his nation’s nuclear capabilities.

Biden said in his Normandy address that “tyrants” are putting the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance “more at risk now than at any point since World War II” — but affirmed that the US and Europe “will not bow down.”REUTERS

“He’s a dictator, and he’s struggling to make sure he holds his country together while still keeping this assault going,” Biden told Muir on Thursday. “We’re not talking about giving them weapons to strike Moscow, to strike the Kremlin — just across the border, where they’re receiving significant fire from conventional weapons used by the Russians to go into Ukraine to kill Ukrainians.”

Biden remarked earlier on Thursday that “tyrants” are putting the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance “more at risk now than at any point since World War II” but affirmed that the US and Europe “will not bow down.”

“We cannot surrender to the bullies; it is simply unthinkable. If we do, freedom will be subjugated, all Europe will be threatened,” he said.

The president was expected to meet later on Thursday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as the US continues to provide aid and support for Ukraine’s war effort more than two years after Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.