Russia conducted two intercontinental ballistic missile tests before Joe Biden made his trip to Ukraine, according to reports.
Mr Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Monday ahead of the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.
According to reports, Russia’s military carried out a test of its SARMAT missiles - nicknamed Satan II in the West due to their ability to carry multiple nuclear warheads.
One US official told CNN the test occurred just before the US President arrived in the country. A second added that the launches occurred on Monday but did not give a specific timeline, although said Washington did not view either as a threat.
It is believed both missile launches failed although a similar successful test was conducted last April, months after the invasion.
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed that Washington had informed Russia on Sunday night that Mr Biden would be making a trip to Kyiv.
While in Ukraine, the US President told Volodymyr Zelensky that America would back him in the war for “as long as it takes”, adding: “Putin’s war of conquest is failing.”
On Tuesday, however, Vladimir Putin hit out at the West during his state of the nation address where he accused Nato allies of wanting to “make the conflict global”.
“We did everything possible, genuinely everything possible, in order to solve this problem in Ukraine by peaceful means.
“We were patient, we were negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but a completely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs,” he told lawmakers.
“It’s they who have started the war. And we are using force to end it.”
The Russian president also announced the suspension of its involvement in the New START treaty.
The treaty, signed in 2010, caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy and is the last remaining arms reduction treaty between the two powers.
