Ukrainian and Western officials have condemned the votes as an illegal attempt by Moscow to annex areas its forces have seized during nearly seven months of war. Virtual referendums were held in the occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. The US has also publicly warned Russia against making nuclear threats. At the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, condemned Russia’s “reckless nuclear threats” and said they “must stop immediately”. However, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, suggested that nuclear weapons could be used to defend occupied territories in Ukraine after they had been illegally annexed by Moscow. He said any Russian weapons “including strategic nuclear weapons and weapons based on new principles” could be used. This was thought to be a reference to supersonic weapons.
US warnings to Putin ‘need to be clearer’
In a recent interview, Joe Biden publicly warned Russia against using nuclear weapons, saying, “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. You’re going to change the face of war unlike anything since World War II.” He said there would be a “consequential” response from the US, but its sale would depend on “the extent of [Russia] I am doing.” Richard Haas, chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations, said US warnings to Mr Putin needed to be clearer. He said: “History shows that Mr Putin responds better to specific, credible threats than to general talk of serious consequences. “We would have to tell the Russians now if they were going to use nuclear weapons, however, America’s and NATO’s air force would be placed at Ukraine’s disposal, and essentially the entire Russian military presence in Ukraine would be decimated. “There has to be a specific credible threat [to Mr Putin] that we are willing and able to continue.”
