US President considers his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to be a "killer" who has no soul as Mr. Biden stated during a television interview.

Mr. Biden said that Mr. Putin will face "payback" for attempting to interfere in the US presidential elections last November. He'll pay for it, US President said in an interview with ABC News, which aired on the evening of March 16. When asked by journalist about the consequences, Mr. Biden replied: You will see soon.

The interview, covering a wide range of issues, was broadcast just hours after the publication of a US intelligence report, which said that Putin authorized, President Donald Trump. The operations were aimed at undermining public confidence in the electoral process and exacerbating socio-political divisions in the United States, the intelligence said.

Mr. Biden, who has been in politics for over four decades, said that over the years he got to know Putin "relatively well" and did not believe in his soul. When asked if he considers Mr. Putin to be a murderer, Mr. Biden replied: "Mmm, yes."

Russia opposition reacted almost immediately to the obvious however still shocking statement by the US President.

Everyone knew it but we were afraid to say, commented former political prisoner and oligarch Mr. Mikhail Khodorkovsky in an interview with The Owner. Mr. Khodorkovsky whom Putin ordered to be sentenced to 25 years in the toughest prison in Siberia. In this case, we are not talking about the legitimate violence of the state, but about the personality of Putin, as someone who ordered these murders, he added.

The Kremlin on March 17 rejected the findings of American intelligence, calling them absolutely baseless. According to Kremlin spokesman Mr. Dmitry Peskov, who himself is an intelligence officer, Russia did not interfere in the elections and had nothing to do with any campaigns against any of the candidates.

Despite strained relations with Russia, Mr. Biden noted that the United States can cooperate with Moscow in common interests. According to Mr. Biden, one of the areas of cooperation could be the extension of the agreement on strategic offensive weapons.