US calls Putin's referendum plan in Ukraine an 'utter contempt disdain' for United Nations

The United States on Tuesday termed Russian President Vladimir Putin's referendum plan in Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine an “utter contempt and disdain” for the United Nations. US State Secretary Antony Blinken, during a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Tuesday, claimed that the Russian President has been making the plans for a referendum in four Ukrainian regions as well as mobilising more troops in the already war-torn country for several months. He added Putin wants to install a puppet leader in the seized Ukrainian regions. I had a good meeting with UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly today at #UNGA in NYC, where we discussed the importance of our countries’ Special Relationship and coordination on shared U.S.-UK priorities, including holding Russia to account for its brutal war in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/5ZTnSGLeAr — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 21, 2022 Any Russian sham “referenda” in Ukraine would be illegitimate and an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that are the foundation of the @UN Charter just as world leaders are gathering at #UNGA. pic.twitter.com/WPNvCvCyhp — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 20, 2022 "Russia is now considering proceeding with the sham referenda in Ukraine – something we said that they were going to do for many months, having put – installed puppet representatives in the parts of Ukraine that they’ve seized, and now looking to proceed referenda that would be a sham and that would then lead to them claiming the annexation of Ukrainian territory," he said. Furthermore, he called Putin's decision to mobilise more troops in the Ukrainian region "an attempt to seize the country". "Both of these things are happening this week as we’re at the United Nations shows his utter contempt and disdain for the United Nations, for the General Assembly, for the United Nations Charter," Blinked stressed. He made it clear if Russia purports to annex Ukrainian territory, the United States will never, never recognise the regions. If Russia does stage these sham “referenda”, the United States and the international community will never recognize Russia’s claims to any purportedly-annexed parts of Ukraine. We continue to stand with the people of Ukraine. — Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 20, 2022 Blinken praises the Ukrainian military for gaining strategic locations Later, in the meeting, he went on to praise the Ukrainian forces who have recently liberated several regions from Russian troops. It is worth mentioning in the past week, Ukrainian forces claimed they regained the southern region of Kherson, which was captured by Russian forces in the opening days of the Moscow-Kyiv war. On September 10, Ukraine claimed it launched another, highly effective offensive in the northeast, near Kharkiv, resulting in the Russian forces fleeing the region leaving the arms and ammunition in the battleground. This prompted other top allies of Putin to speak against him. Even his closest ally, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya, questioned the Russian army over the recent advances claimed by the Ukrainian forces. Image: AP

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US calls Putin's referendum plan in Ukraine an 'utter contempt disdain' for United Nations

Blinken termed Vladimir Putin's referendum plan in Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine an “utter contempt and disdain” for the UN.

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