KYIV: Russia has sought to defend its seven-month old war, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov telling the United Nations that regions of Ukraine where widely-criticised referendums are being held would get Russia’s “full protection” if annexed by Moscow.
The votes in four eastern Ukrainian regions, aimed at annexing territory Russia has taken by force since its attack in February, were staged for a third day on Sunday. The Russian parliament could move to formalise the annexation within days.
By incorporating the four areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia into Russia, Moscow could portray attacks to retake them as an attack on Russia itself, a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies.
The Russian annexations raise the risk of a direct military confrontation between Russia and the Nato military alliance as Western arms are being used by Ukrainian troops.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Britain and its allies should not heed threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin who had made what she called a strategic mistake.
“I think he didn’t anticipate the strength of reaction from the free world,” she told CNN.
“We should not be listening to his sabre-rattling and his bogus threats. Instead, what we need to do is continue to put sanctions on Russia and continue to support the Ukrainians,” Truss said in the interview broadcast on Sunday.
Ukraine and its allies have dismissed the referendums as a sham designed to justify an escalation of the war and a mobilisation drive by Moscow after recent battlefield losses.
Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia’s first military mobilisation since World War Two. The move triggered protests across Russia and sent many men of military age fleeing.
Two of Russia’s most senior lawmakers on Sunday addressed a string of complaints about the mobilisation, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the “excesses” that have stoked public anger.
Addressing the UN General Assembly and the world’s media in New York on Saturday, Lavrov sought to justify Russia’s attack of its neighbour, repeating Moscow’s false claims that the elected government in Kyiv was illegitimately installed and filled with neo-Nazis.
He cast opposition to what Russia calls a “special operation” as limited to the United States and countries under its sway. Nearly three-quarters of states in the assembly voted to reprimand Russia and demand it withdraw its troops.
Lavrov told a news conference after his speech that the regions where votes are underway would be under Moscow’s “full protection” if they are annexed by Russia.
Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend the annexed regions, Lavrov said Russian territory, including territory “further enshrined” in Russia’s constitution in the future, “is under the full protection of the state”.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said Russia’s mentions of the possible use of nuclear weapons were “absolutely unacceptable” and Kyiv would not give in to them.
The Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, may debate bills incorporating the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia on Thursday, the state-run TASS news agency said on Saturday, citing an unnamed source. — Reuters
