Biden, Zelenskyy slam Russia in UN speeches

In his speech Wednesday before the UN General Assembly, President Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin had no justification for invading Ukraine. “No one threatened Russia, and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” he said. Biden also condemned Russian forces’ attacks on civilian targets, such as schools and railway stations. Later in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the assembly and received a standing ovation. “We must finally recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” Zelenskyy said.

What’s going on in the Russia-Ukraine war? In an address on state television Wednesday, Putin said Russia will begin calling up reservists to serve in Ukraine. Russian officials said that as many as 300,000 new troops could be deployed. Four Russian-controlled provinces in Ukraine’s south and east are also planning referendums on whether to become parts of Russia. If they do, the provinces would likely fall under the territory Putin also said he would defend by any means, which some believe could include nuclear weapons. He added: “This isn’t a bluff.”

Dig deeper: Listen to my report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how Putin compares to Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union.