Biden promises Kyiv air defense systems, UN debates annexation

The U.N. assembly is scheduled to vote later this week on a draft resolution condemning the Kremlin's attempt to annex four Ukrainian regions in the country's east and south. Most countries are expected to not recognize Russia's annexations, but the wording of the draft resolution and the tone of speeches or lack of speeches by some nations will be closely watched and provide an indication of the world's mood in regards to a war that's put Russia and the West on a dangerous collision course. The war is also driving up energy and commodity prices globally and causing unrest in many parts of the world, including the West.

Already, though, there are signs that global opinion remains divided with many developing countries refusing to back Western sanctions on Russia. For example, on Monday 107 out of the assembly's 193 member countries voted against a Russian request to hold a secret ballot on the annexation, meaning 86 nations preferred keeping their vote hidden. Russia vetoed a similar resolution in the 15-member U.N. Security Council.

During Monday's U.N. meeting, Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the world body, argued that the pending vote will sow more discord.

“What does this have to do with peace and security or trying to settle conflicts?” Nebenzia said. He called it “yet one more step towards division and escalation, which I'm sure is not something the absolute majority of states in this room need.”

Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said the world must defend the principles of the U.N. Charter.

“A trail of blood is left behind the Russian delegation when it enters the General Assembly and the hall is filled up with the smell of smoldering human flesh,” he said. “That's what we have tolerated in Syria. That's what is happening today in Ukraine.”

But many developing nations remain unconvinced about American leadership and are not ready to see what Russia is doing as that much different from American bellicosity after decades of U.S.-led wars against Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

On the battlefields of Ukraine, Russian troops are struggling to hold onto the regions Putin wants to add to Russia. Fighting on the front lines continues to rage, though neither side has managed to make significant gains recently.

In early September, Ukraine conducted a successful counter-offensive in Kharkiv, driving out Russian troops from the entirety of the Kharkiv region. That humiliating setback prompted Putin to dig in deeper by ordering the mobilization of 300,000 new troops and declaring the annexations of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

In Ukraine, work continued Tuesday to patch up the severe damage caused by Russian bombs and bring back the country's power grid. Moscow was able to deliver crippling hits to large power plants across Ukraine and power outages continued to be reported in many areas Tuesday with officials calling on citizens to reduce electricity consumption.

Defiant and furious over the bombardment, Zelenskyy demanded more air defense systems from the West. Ukraine said it shot down about half of the more than 80 rockets Russia fired.

Over the course of the war, Zelenskyy has become more aggressive too after initially pondering the possibility of agreeing to a ceasefire.

In recent months, Zelenskyy has refused to hold negotiations with Putin, called for Russia's economy to be crippled, demanded countries close their borders to Russians and pleaded for more weapons. Last week, Zelenskyy, while speaking to an Australian think tank, said NATO should carry out preemptive strikes on Russia to prevent the “possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons.”

“What should NATO do? Eliminate the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons,“ Zelenskyy said. “We need preventive strikes, so they know what will happen to them if they use nukes, and not the other way around.”

The risk of the Ukraine conflict escalating into an unthinkable nuclear war has begun to hang over the world.

“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since [John F.] Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden said last week.

He said such a risk was growing because Putin's “military is – you might say – significantly underperforming.”

His comments came after Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic who is effectively a warlord close to Putin, stated on social media that Russia should consider using “low-yield” tactical nuclear weapons. Such weapons include nuclear-tipped mines, small nuclear bombs and other radioactive ordnance. The Soviet Union and the U.S. both developed such weapons, but they have never been used in combat.

Biden said he did not think “there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.”

Despite the frightening rhetoric, most experts remain of the opinion that Putin will not resort to a nuclear attack in Ukraine because its military advantages are doubtful, such an attack could shift global opinion against Russia and also expose Russian troops and civilians to radiation.

Meanwhile, there is growing evidence that the U.S. is becoming more directly involved. The Intercept reported last week that the CIA and U.S. Special Operations teams are becoming more active in Ukraine.

Many top U.S. security experts are urging the White House to deliver even more deadly weapons to Ukraine, such as attack drones and long-distance rockets capable of hitting targets in Crimea and deep inside Russia. Ukraine regularly strikes Russia's border areas, but it wants the ability to strike even farther. American and Ukrainian officials argue that Kyiv can win the war and drive Russia out of Ukraine if it is given better weapons. In July, Ukraine started to turn the war in its favor following the delivery of so-called High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. HIMARS are mobile systems that shoot guided missiles.

At the same time, Russia may be considering some kind of nuclear demonstration. A week ago, The Times of London reported that Putin ordered a train used to transport nuclear weapons to move toward Ukraine. The newspaper said NATO leaders were warned that Russia may seek to conduct a nuclear test close to Ukraine's borders.

Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.

Follow @cainburdeau

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit