In his address to the United Nations on Wednesday, President Joe Biden warned the international community about the dangers of Russia’s war on Ukraine and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for violating the U.N. charter and threatening to use nuclear weapons.
“Let us speak plainly: A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor, attempted to erase the sovereign state from the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations charter,” Biden said in the speech.
“Again, just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe in a reckless disregard for the responsibilities of a non-proliferation regime,” Biden added.
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Biden then urged UN members to stand against Russia and its continued aggression and condemned Russia for acts of imperial aggression.
“This world should see these outrageous acts for what they are. Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened. But no one threatened Russia. And no one other than Russia sought conflict … Putin’s own words make his true purpose unmistakable,” Biden said.
“Just before he invaded, Putin asserted, and I quote, ‘Ukraine was created by Russia’ and never had, quote, ‘real statehood.'”
“This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple,” Biden added.
Biden then explained how the U.S. and other nations throughout the world came together to assist Ukraine with security measures and aid.
“That’s why 141 nations in the General Assembly came together to unequivocally condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine,” he said. “The United States has marshaled massive levels of security assistance and humanitarian aid and direct economic support for Ukraine — more than $25 billion to date.
“Our allies and partners around the world have stepped up as well. And today, more than 40 countries represented in here have contributed billions of their own money and equipment to help Ukraine defend itself.”
Biden said the international community did so out of the conviction that Ukraine has a right to individual sovereignty and Russia does not have a right to act as an imperial and aggressive power.
“If nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequences, then we put at risk everything this very institution stands for, everything,” Biden said.
Biden’s sweeping response and condemnation of Russia come after Putin hinted at using nuclear weapons, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Russia will use all the instruments at its disposal to counter a threat against its territorial integrity — this is not a bluff,” Putin said in an address to Russia earlier on Wednesday, the Journal reported.
Putin has been threatening in his comments after he claimed that North Atlantic Treaty Organization members said that it would be fine to administer nuclear strikes on Russia, the Journal also reported.
“To those who allow themselves such statements, I would like to remind them, Russia also has many types of weapons of destruction, the components of which in some cases are more modern than those of the countries of NATO,” Putin said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.