Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said he does not believe United States President Joe Biden is afraid of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports The Hill.

During an interview with Fox News, Zelenskyy, speaking about Biden and Putin's relationship, said, "I don't know if President Biden is fearing President Putin. I don't — I believe that he doesn't. I want to believe that he doesn't because he is the leader of a big nation, a great nation."

"I'm holding my fist — that's our tradition," he added. "I don't know if you understand this standard. I hold my fist or cross my fingers so that this will never happen, that any president of the United States would fear Russia, because America for us was always a symbol of democracy, and I have faith that Ukraine is also now — for Ukraine, you are also a symbol of freedom."

After Russia invaded Ukraine, tensions between the eastern nation and the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Canada have strained. As a result, Western countries have imposed strict sanctions directed at the Russian government and its wealthy elites.

Previously, Biden called Putin a "war criminal," and recently, during a speech in Poland said, he "cannot remain in power."

The comments caused a stir of controversy, with Vice President Kamala Harris stepping in to underscore that the Biden administration is "not into regime change."

"Let me be very clear. We are not into regime change. And that is not our policy. Period," Harris told MSNBC.

Following the remarks, a Kremlin spokesperson said Putin took the comment as a "personal insult."

"First of all, it's — first of all, it is personal insult. And one can hardly imagine a place for personal insult in rhetorics of a political leader, and especially a political leader of the greatest country in the world, of the United States," Putin's spokesperson said.

"So, we're really sorry about that. And his statement involves whether Putin should not or should be in power in Russia. Of course, it is completely unacceptable. It is not for the United States' president to decide who is going to be and who is the president of the Russian Federation. It is people of Russia who are deciding during the election."

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