After Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of four seized Ukrainian territories, President Joe Biden cautioned Russia that the United States will not be frightened by reckless threats.
Friday, President Putin appeared to make a veiled threat to defend certain territories with nuclear weapons.
He stated that they would “forever” be Russian territory, but Ukraine pledged to liberate them.
NATO head Jens Stoltenberg described the Russian action as “the most severe escalation since the beginning of the campaign.”
In an address in Moscow, the Russian leader asserted that citizens in the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the southern areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia, had opted to be “with their people, their motherland.”
He was alluding to the so-called referendums staged in the regions over the past several days, but the Ukrainian and Western governments have condemned the votes as fraudulent.
The majority of Mr. Putin’s address was spent criticizing the West.
He implied that the United States had set a “precedent” by using nuclear weapons against Japan at the end of World War II.
Mr. Putin stated last week that his nation possessed “different weapons of destruction” and would “employ every available means,” adding, “I am not bluffing.”
The Kremlin has made it plain that any attack on the regions claimed by Russia will be perceived as an attack on Russian territory, signaling an escalation of the conflict.
Russia does not entirely control any of the four territories, and Mr. Putin did not define the borders in his statement.
President Biden criticized the “reckless comments and threats” of his Russian counterpart, but stressed that Mr. Putin “will not intimidate us.”
“America and its friends will not be intimidated,” stated Vice President Biden at the White House.
He then pointed his finger directly into the camera and spoke directly to the Russian president.
“The United States and its NATO allies are fully prepared to defend every square inch of NATO territory,” he said, referring to the Western security group.
“Mr. Putin, please do not misinterpret me: every inch.”
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Biden’s top national security official stated that while it was possible that Moscow would turn to nuclear weapons, the threat did not appear immediately.
Ukraine announced a new, expedited application to join NATO immediately after Mr. Putin’s address.
After a crisis meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kyiv has been a “de facto” part of the security bloc for a long time and accused Moscow of redrawing borders “using murder, extortion, torture, and lies.”
Mr. Zelensky threatened to liberate all Ukrainian territory, including the peninsula of Crimea, which Russia acquired in 2014. In addition, he ruled out further conversations with Mr. Putin.
Mr. Stoltenberg of NATO declined to comment on the bid, stating that the choice remained with the bloc’s 30 members.
The members of the alliance “do not and will not” recognize any of the annexed areas as part of Russia, Mr. Stoltenberg told reporters, accusing Mr. Putin of “reckless nuclear saber-rattling.”
He described the annexation as a “turning point” in the war.
President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated, “Putin’s illegitimate annexation will not change anything.”
“All unjustly taken lands by Russian invaders are Ukrainian territory and will always be a part of this sovereign nation.”
Turkey characterized Russia’s action as a “grave breach” of international law.
South Korea stated that it does not recognize the attempted annexations and that Ukraine’s independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty must be safeguarded.
As Mr. Putin spoke in Moscow, 750 kilometers (466 miles) to the south, his soldiers were surrounded by Ukrainian forces in Lyman, a strategically significant town in the Donetsk area’s eastern portion.
A social media video appeared to show Ukraine’s forces near the center of Yampil, 16 kilometers (9 miles) southeast of Lyman. The Ukrainian military has been eager to conceal the speed of its troops’ advance in the region.
And late on Friday night, the Ukrainian defense ministry announced that it had captured the settlement of Drobysheve, about 8 kilometers (4 miles) north-northwest of Lyman.
Elsewhere, Ukraine said on Saturday morning that the head of Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, located in Zaporizhzhia, had been abducted by Russians and transported to an “unknown location.” Shortly after commencing its assault on February 24th, Russia took the factory.
This comes just hours after Ukraine accused Russia of killing 30 individuals in a rocket attack on a civilian transport in Zaporizhzhia.
Russia attributed this strike, one of the worst in recent weeks, to Ukraine.
On Friday, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have criticized its annexation of the four seized regions. Moscow’s envoy, Vasily Nebenzia, remarked that seeking the condemnation of a permanent member was unprecedented.
Although the Kremlin’s opposition to the measure was expected, India and China abstained.
