Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday mobilized hundreds of thousands of reservists to relaunch the offensive in Ukraine and threatened to resort to nuclear weapons, something the United States said it “takes seriously.”
But the announcement of the partial mobilization of the reservists triggered impromptu demonstrations in at least 38 Russian cities, resulting in the arrest of at least 1,332 people, constituting the largest protests in Russia since those that followed the announcement of the Moscow offensive. in Ukraine. end of February.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden, in turn, attacked Russia, also a permanent member of the UN Security Council, accusing it of having “blatantly violated” UN principles with the military offensive. in Ukraine.
After Putin threatened to use atomic weapons, the US president responded: “A nuclear war is unwinnable and should not be fought.”
A few hours earlier, in a speech to the nation, Putin said that he was willing to use “all the means” of the Russian arsenal against the West, which he accused of wanting to “destroy” Russia, guaranteeing that his words “are not a bluff.” .
The mobilization of reservists was described in Europe as an “admission of weakness” by Moscow, whose army has suffered serious setbacks in recent weeks in response to a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.
The Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) will hold an emergency informal meeting tonight in New York (Thursday morning in Lisbon) on Ukraine.
The issue of new sanctions against Russia will be “on the table”, according to the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
The high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly began on Tuesday, at the UN headquarters in New York, and will continue until next Monday, with the presence of dozens of heads of state and government.
This is the first General Assembly since the start of the war in Ukraine and the first in person since the start of the pandemic.
The event is being held under the theme “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions for Interconnected Challenges”, and will focus on the war in Ukraine and the global food, climate and energy crises.
Source: TSF