Biden May Use UNGA Speech to Urge World Leaders to Unite Against Russia Over Donbass Referendums

In an address to the nation on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that Moscow “will do everything it can to ensure security” at the four self-determination referendums in the Donbass republics, Kherson region and Zaporozhye region, so that people can “express their will.”

US President Joe Biden will use his speech at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York later Wednesday to rally world leaders against Moscow, which supports a push by the Donbass republics as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to hold referendums on joining Russia.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UNGA summit, Sullivan argued in an apparent nod to Russia that “He [Biden] will underscore the importance of strengthening the United Nations and reaffirm core tenets of its charter at a time when a permanent member of the Security Council has struck at the very heart of the charter by challenging the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

He said that the US would never accept the claimed results of such “sham referenda,” while also being downbeat about the effectiveness of partial mobilization that was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Wednesday to protect Russia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“In terms of Russia being able to put more troops onto the battlefield, obviously, that will have an impact on the battlefield equation, but we do not believe at this point that it will undermine Ukraine’s ability to effectively repel Russian aggression and to continue making gains,” the national security adviser claimed, referring to the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine.

He spoke after Putin pledged in his address to the nation on September 21 that Russia will do its best to ensure security at the upcoming referendums in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR) and (LPR), respectively, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions as to whether they want to be part of Russia.

“The parliaments of the people's republics in Donbass as well as civil-military administrations of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions have decided to hold the referendums on the destiny of these territories and appealed to Russia, asking to support this step. I stress that we will do everything to ensure security at the referendums for people to express their will,” the Russian President underscored.

He said that the decision is fully in line with the threats Russia faces, adding that partial mobilization is also needed “to ensure the security of our people and people in the liberated territories” in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian President also emphasized that Moscow has “no moral right to hand over people close to us to be torn to pieces by [Ukraine's] executioners,” and that Russia “cannot but respond to those people’s sincere desire to determine their own fate.”

On Monday, the DPR and the LPR announced their plans to simultaneously hold referendums to join Russia following the respective requests from their Civil Councils. The bills ordering the holding of referendums were passed by the republics' parliaments the next day and voting is scheduled to be held between September 23 and September 27. The dates will also see similar referendums in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

Dwelling on the reason for the immediate holding of the referendum, Lina Vokalova, deputy head of the LPR’s Public Chamber, pointed to "the events of recent days," during which she said “Kiev nationalists crossed all red lines.”

In an address to Russian President Vladimir Putin, DPR head Denis Pushilin for his part stressed that “the long-suffering people of Donbass has deserved to be part of the Great Country, which they always considered their Motherland.” Pushilin added that “this event will be the restoration of historical justice, which is wanted by millions of Russian people.”

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24th in response to the DPR and LPR requests to protect them from Kiev attacks, a move that came a few days after Moscow recognized their the Donbass republics’ statehood. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time that the goal of the operation is “to protect people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.” He added that to implement the task, it’s necessary to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for "bloody crimes against civilians" in Donbass.