Australia, New Zealand condemn Putin’s nuclear weapons threat

Sydney, Australia, Sep 22 (EFE).- Australia and New Zealand condemned the threat made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his nuclear arsenal and the announcement of the partial mobilization of 300,000 Russian reservists in the war in Ukraine.

“These threats are unthinkable and irresponsible. Their claims to defend Russia’s territorial integrity are false,” said Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is in New York to represent her country at the United Nations General Assembly, in a statement her office released Thursday.

“Only Russia is responsible for this illegal and immoral war, and peace must first pass through Russia’s withdrawal from Ukrainian territory,” added the head of Australian diplomacy, who held a meeting on the sidelines of the UN Assembly with Ukrainian Counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Wong also criticized the move to integrate the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk into Russian territory, as well as in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia in Kherson and Zaporizhia, adding that “no mock referendum will make them a reality.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called Putin’s announcement an “extraordinary escalation of the conflict” and denounced the “false” referendums, calling them an excuse to annex Ukrainian territory to her country.

The president – who met in New York with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal – said “New Zealand has always stood firmly against this illegal invasion and firmly opposes the escalation of this conflict,” in statements to journalists in the American city.

Australia and New Zealand, like their allies such as the United States and the European Union, have expressed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine their solidarity with this country by sending military material and humanitarian aid, in addition to imposing sanctions on hundreds of Russian leaders and businessmen. EFE

wat/lds