Biden tells Putin ‘he has no idea what’s coming’

UNITED NATIONS, United States: US President Joe Biden at his State of the Union address aimed at Russian President Vladmir Putin and said the Kremlin leader had badly miscalculated how events would unfold and that “he has no idea what’s coming. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly “demands” Russia to “immediately” withdraw from Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution that "demands" Russia "immediately" withdraw from Ukraine, in a powerful rebuke of Moscow´s invasion by a vast majority of the world´s nations.

After more than two days of extraordinary debate, which saw the Ukrainian ambassador accuse Russia of genocide, 141 out of 193 United Nations member states voted for the non-binding resolution.

China was among the 35 countries which abstained, while just five -- Eritrea, North Korea, Syria, Belarus and of course Russia -- voted against it. The resolution "deplores" the invasion of Ukraine "in the strongest terms" and condemns President Vladimir Puti´s decision to put his nuclear forces on alert.The vote had been touted by diplomats as a bellwether of democracy in a world where autocracy is on the rise, and came as Putin´s forces bear down on Kyiv while terrified Ukrainians flee."They have come to deprive Ukraine of the very right to exist," Ukraine´s ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told the Assembly ahead of the vote.

"It´s already clear that the goal of Russia is not an occupation only. It is genocide." Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Moscow has pleaded "self-defense" under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

But that has been roundly rejected by Western countries who accuse Moscow of violating Article 2 of the Charter, requiring UN members to refrain from the threat or use of force to resolve a crisis.

The European Union´s ambassador to the UN Olof Skoog said the vote was "not just about Ukraine.""It is about defending an international order based on rules we all have signed up to," he said in a statement.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the General Assembly´s message was "loud and clear."

"End hostilities in Ukraine -- now. Silence the guns -- now," he said in a statement."As bad as the situation is for the people in Ukraine right now, it threatens to get much, much worse. The ticking clock is a time bomb."

The text of the resolution -- led by European countries in coordination with Ukraine -- has undergone numerous changes in recent days.It no longer "condemns" the invasion as initially expected, but instead "deplores in the strongest terms the Russian Federation´s aggression against Ukraine."

Nearly every General Assembly speaker unreservedly condemned the war."If the United Nations has any purpose, it is to prevent war," the US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said during her speech.

Russia´s ally Belarus offered a staunch defense of the invasion, however. Ambassador Valentin Rybakov blasted sanctions imposed by the West on Russia as "the worst example of economic and financial terrorism."

And he followed other Russian allies such as Syria in condemning the "double standards" of Western nations who have invaded countries including Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan in recent decades.

Other speakers cited fears of a domino effect should Ukraine fall to Russia. Colombia railed against any return to "empire," while Albania wondered: "Who will be next?" From the Arab world it was Kuwait, itself the victim of an invasion by Iraq in 1990, whose denunciation of Moscow was the most explicit.

Japan and New Zealand led condemnation from Asia, but the continent´s giants -- China, India and Pakistan -- all abstained. During the debate Beijing had stressed the world had "nothing to gain" from a new Cold War.

On the meeting´s sidelines, Washington has taken aim at Russians working at the United Nations, leveling accusations of espionage and demanding expulsions. US President Joe Biden asserted Tuesday in his State of the Union address that Putin had underestimated the response to the invasion.

"He rejected efforts at diplomacy... And, he thought he could divide us here at home," Biden said. "Putin was wrong. We were ready." He assailed Russian President Vladimir Putin, barred Russian flights from American airspace and led Democratic and Republican lawmakers in a rare display of unity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. "Let each of us if you're able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world," Biden urged Democrats and Republicans. In a deviation from his prepared remarks, Biden said of Putin: "He has no idea what's coming."He took aim at Putin, saying the Kremlin leader had badly miscalculated how events would unfold and that now "Russia’s economy is reeling and Putin alone is to blame." "He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. He met the Ukrainian people," he said. "From President Zelenskiy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world."