Joe Biden condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “brutal, needless war” in a speech to the United Nations general assembly hours after Vladimir Putin threatened to draw on Moscow’s atomic weapons in response to what he called the West’s “nuclear blackmail”.
The US president said Russia “attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map, and “shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations charter.”
Mr Putin earlier announced a partial mobilisation of 300,000 troops to shore up his forces, which have been pushed back in recent weeks by the Ukrainian army.
He also accused the West of considering the use of nuclear weapons against Russia and warned Moscow would “use all the means at our disposal” if threatened by western encroachment onto Russiuan territory.
“This is not a bluff. And those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the weathervane can turn and point towards them.”
Britain said the mobilisation of Russia’s military reservists by President Putin is a “clear admission” his invasion of Ukraine is failing.
