Biden: No one threatens Russia but Russia itself

“No one threatens Russia but Russia itself,” President Joe Biden told the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.

The annual general debate is an opportunity for the General Assembly to discuss regional and global issues.

As previously reported, Biden will meet with British Prime Minister Liz Truss and UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the sidelines of the assembly.

This year’s session of the General Assembly is taking place against the backdrop of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the food crisis, inflation and gas supply disruptions.

Recall that earlier on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization. Prior to this, the Russian State Duma adopted in the second and third readings amendments to the Criminal Code, supplementing the Criminal Code with the concepts of “mobilization”, “martial law” and “wartime”, as well as tightening the punishment for desertion. The amendments also introduce terms for voluntary surrender and looting.

As a reminder, the puppet DNR and LNR, which Putin recognized as independent shortly before the invasion, as well as the Kherson region and territories in Zaporizhzhya region that are under Russian control (they do not include the region’s largest city, Zaporizhya) almost simultaneously submitted a request for a referendum on accession to Russia.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Tuesday that the referendums planned by Moscow would play no role.

“The Russians can do whatever they want. It won’t change anything,” Kuleba said, answering questions from reporters at the start of a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Western allies said Monday that the referendums will not be recognized by the international community.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called the referendums “bogus,” “lacking legitimacy and not changing the nature of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine.”

“This is a further escalation of Putin’s war. The international community should condemn this blatant violation of international law and increase support for Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter on Tuesday.