'Take power into your own hands': Putin calls for Ukrainian military to seize power and make agreement with Russia

As Ukrainians bravely fight to defend their country against a Russian invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the Ukrainian military to seize power and make an agreement with Russia, according to reports.

"Take power into your own hands," Putin said, according to reports.

"It seems that it will be easier for us to come to an agreement than with this gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis, who occupied Kyiv and took the entire Ukrainian people hostage," Putin said, according to Politico, which noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish.

Russia has been laying siege to Ukraine, but Ukrainians have been fighting back.

People around the globe have watched in horror as Russia began invading the sovereign country, wreaking death and destruction against the Ukrainian people.

The U.S. and other nations have condemned Russia and levied sanctions — President Biden has said that American troops will not defend Ukraine against Russia, but will defend NATO allies.

The president is slated to deliver a State of the Union address next week, but has been underwater on his job approval numbers in various polls for quite awhile. In addition to domestic issues like rapidly rising prices, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is likely to cast a pall over his upcoming speech.

A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll of adults in the U.S. found that just 33% approve of how Biden is dealing with the Russia-Ukraine issue, while 47% disapprove, and 20% have no opinion on the matter. The poll was carried out Feb. 20 to 24.