Joe Biden will use his speech at the United Nations on Wednesday to rally the world to stand firm against Russia’s plans Holding referendums in occupied parts of Ukraine It may introduce widespread conscription, which the US has described as signs of desperation that is unlikely to halt Ukraine’s military gains.
Biden will seek the broadest possible support for the Ukrainian resistance at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by portraying it as a direct violation of the United Nations’ founding charter, and will make new announcements about US funding for measures to address global food insecurity, caused by the Russian invasion. , which threatened developing countries with starvation.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said: “He [Biden] It will emphasize the importance of strengthening the United Nations and reaffirming the basic principles of its Charter at a time when a permanent member of the Security Council has struck at the heart of the Charter by challenging the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Speaking in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly summit, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said: “None of this – sham referendums, the possible mobilization of additional troops – is a sign of strength. On the contrary, it is a sign of weakness. It is a sign of On Russia’s failure.
Biden’s Wednesday morning speech will be followed a few hours later by a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a speech that Russia tried to stop but that won overwhelming support from members of the General Assembly.
Biden and Zelensky will seek to present the Russian invasion as a direct affront to all that the United Nations stands for. They will deliver their speeches as reports on Mass graves flow from the Russian-occupied town of Izyumand after the Russian State Duma passed new amendments to the legal act referring directly to “mobilization” and “martial law”, and introduced criminal liability for desertion or willful surrender during that period.
Four regions occupied by Russia in Ukraine They said they plan to hold “referendums” on joining the Russian Federation in a series of coordinated announcements that could indicate that the Kremlin has made a decision to formally annex the territories.
Sullivan said the United States would never accept the alleged results of such “fake referendums.” About possible enlistment plans, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin “Maybe he will resort to partial mobilization, forcing more Russians to go fight his brutal war in Ukraine.” However, he does not believe that this will turn the military tide, which has turned in Kyiv’s favor in recent days.
“In terms of Russia’s ability to deploy more forces to the battlefield, obviously that will have an impact on the battlefield equation, but we don’t believe at this point that it will undermine Ukraine’s ability to effectively fend off Russian aggression and continue to make a difference,” Sullivan said.
In his address to the General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron described the Russian attempt to occupy Ukraine as a “return to the era of imperialism.” Macron criticized those member states that presented themselves as neutral in the conflict, saying they were making a “historic mistake”.
“Those who remain silent today are, in a way, complicit in the cause of the new imperialism,” said the French president.
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz said on Tuesday in his first address to the General Assembly that Putin would abandon his “imperial ambitions” that risk destroying Ukraine and Russia only if he realizes he cannot win the war. “That is why we will not accept any peace dictated by Russia and that is why Ukraine should be able to repel Russia’s attack,” Schultz said.
Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, portrayed the news from Moscow as Putin raised the stakes in an ever more desperate gamble.
“Now we are in a situation where Putin, using the term poker, has done his best, and it is extremely dangerous to play this way. In every sense of the word, I mean, for example, the political and economic future of Russia,” Niinistö said in his address to the assembly .
The Kremlin has so far resisted full mobilization, likely out of fear of a political backlash. Experts also questioned whether the Russian mobilization had any immediate effect in terms of halting the Ukrainian advance, which reclaimed more than 3,000 square miles last month.
“There is one problem,” wrote Ekaterina Shulman, a political analyst. “The administrative side of adding new territories takes time, mobilizing and integrating mobilized forces takes time, and they assume the other side will stop and wait—obviously, out of respect for the Russian legislative process.”
The occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions said they are ready to hold “elections”, which will be universally viewed as fraudulent, as soon as this week, with declarations also made in Kherson and Zaporizhia. Some Russian media reported that Putin may give a speech soon about a possible annexation.
As Ukrainian forces begin to make progress in the Luhansk region, Russia may worry that it cannot win on the battlefield and threaten a possible escalation, including a formal declaration of war or even a nuclear attack, by claiming to defend its territory.
“Everything that is happening today is an absolutely unequivocal alarm for Ukraine and the West,” wrote Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert on Kremlin politics and founder of R-Politic. “Either Ukraine backs down or there will be nuclear war.”
In order to ensure “victory”, Putin is ready to immediately hold referendums in order to obtain (according to his understanding) the right to use nuclear weapons for the defense of Russian territory. ”
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