Biden alleges Russia trying to disrupt 2022 elections

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday accused Russia of seeking to disrupt 2022 elections by disseminating "misinformation". His statement came as he visited office of the director of national intelligence near Washington.

"Look at what Russia is doing already about the 2022 elections and misinformation," Biden said

"It's a pure violation of our sovereignty."

Biden also lashed out at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has "a real problem, he is sitting on top of an economy that has nuclear weapons and nothing else," Biden said. "He knows he is in real trouble, which makes him even more dangerous in my view."

Biden expressed concern about the recent increase in cyberattacks, particularly via ransomware. A ransomware involves a hacker encrypting victims' data and demanding money for restoring access.

"If we end up in a war, a real shooting war, with a major power, it's going to be as a consequence of a cyber breach," Biden said.

Midterm elections are due in the US in the fall of 2022. In these elections all seats of House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate will be on the ballot.

Washington recently accused Beijing of carrying out the massive hack in March of Microsoft Exchange, and the White House has also repeatedly called on Russia to take action against ransomware attacks originating from within the country.

(With inputs from agencies)