UPDATE2- Biden calls Ukraine war 'strategic failure' for Moscow

ADDS WHITE HOUSE CLARIFICATION OF BIDEN'S REMARKS; CHANGES HEADLINE. DECK

By Seda Sevencan

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Joe Biden on Saturday called Russia’s war on Ukraine a “strategic failure” for Moscow.

“Notwithstanding the brutality of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, let there be no doubt that this war has already been a strategic failure for Russia,” Biden said in a speech in the Polish capital of Warsaw, Ukraine's largest neighbor directly to the west.

After calling Putin a “butcher” earlier Saturday, the first day of a two-day visit to Poland, Biden predicted Russia’s latest war will end in its defeat.

“Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people (have) refused to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness. We will have a different future, a brighter future rooted in democracy and principle, hope and light, of decency and dignity of freedom and possibilities,” he said.

“For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power,” he ended his remarks.

**Later, a White House official attempted to clarify the president’s remark, downplaying any suggestion that Biden was encouraging regime change.

"The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change," the official told Fox News Digital.

Regarding economic sanctions on Russia, Biden said Russia will soon drop out of the list of the world's top 20 economies.

- Russian people ‘not the enemy’

Speaking to the people of Russia, Biden said Russians are not the enemy.

"I refuse to believe that you welcome the killing of innocent children and grandparents or that you accept hospitals, schools, maternity wards, for God's sake, being pummeled with Russian missiles and bombs. Or cities being surrounded so that civilians cannot flee, supplies cut off in attempts to starve Ukrainians into submission.”

“Now Vladimir Putin’s aggression has cut the Russian people off from the rest of the world and is taking Russia back to the 19th century. This is not who you are, this is not the future you deserve for your families and children,” he said.

“I’m telling you the truth. This war is not worthy of you, the Russian people.”

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began on Feb. 24, has met international outrage, with the EU, US and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,081 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,707 injured, according to UN estimates, while cautioning that the true figure is likely far higher.

More than 3.7 million Ukrainians have also fled to neighboring countries, including over 2 million to Poland, with millions more displaced inside Ukraine, according to the UN refugee agency.