Austin: Putin is using disgusting civilian attacks, as his campaign has stalled

“We have seen deliberate targets of towns and towns and civilians over the past few weeks,” said Austin for CBS.

And again, I believe he's taking these steps because his campaign is stuck. He has not been able to reach his goals as quickly as he wants to achieve them. He's using the kind of tactics we see exposed every day. And again, this is really disgusting, he added”.

Asked about Russia's claims that it has launched hypersonic missiles against Ukraine, Austin said he does not believe using such missiles would be a “changer of the game”, though he warned that “could not confirm or object to” that they have been deployed.

I wouldn't see it as a game change. The reason he's using these types of weapons is because he's trying to restore a momentum...”, Austin said.

US officials confirmed to CNN on Saturday that Russia had used hypersonic missiles against Ukraine.

Austin also said that if Putin used chemical or biological weapons against Ukraine, “ai would see an important reaction not only from the United States, but also from the global community”.

I don't want to speculate what would change our calculation. The hypothese involvement is not useful here. But I think this is a very serious step. And as you heard our president say, we're not going to take this lightly,” said Austin.