President Joe Biden made a strong rebuke of Russia’s war against Ukraine on Wednesday, telling the United Nations that the country has violated the “core tenets” of the charter with its aggression.
“Let us speak plainly: A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor and attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map,” Biden told the General Assembly, adding that the war was “chosen by one man, to be very blunt.
“Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations Charter.”
Biden mentioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Wednesday of a partial mobilization to call up 300,000 reservists in response to Ukrainian forces retaking control of large stretches of territory near Kharkiv. Putin also announced plans to hold referendums to annex Russian-occupied regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, and accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail.” The reservist announcement has led to Russians rushing to book one-way flights out of the country while they still could.
