Well, this language isn't useful, a Russian friend of mine, who is quite modern, not a fan of Putin or anything, said she'd prefer Trump to win, because Biden said "Russians are our enemy" (not sure if Biden actually said that, and even if he said "Russian government", the media could've edited "government" out of that quote).
Unless you're Joe Biden, you don't... but if he or his admin wants to not alienate the ordinary Russian people, he should emphasize "Russian government" or Putin and make sure the media notices what he's saying.
