Taoiseach to Putin: Stop the 'needless killing of young people'
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The Taoiseach has called on Russia to stop the "needless killing of young people" and declare a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Micheál Martin has described a speech delivered by Russian president Vladimir Putin, in which he indicated he was willing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, as "grave" and "concerning".
Mr Putin earlier announced a partial mobilisation in Russia — its first since the Second World War — and also warned the West that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory, saying: “It’s not a bluff.”
Responding, Mr Martin said: "I would call on President Putin in Russia to stop this war, declare a ceasefire. There is a needless killing of young people on all sides, a needless killing of young people and now more young people are going to be mobilised in Russia, for what? For a 19th-century imperialist objective, which simply cannot and will not be realised."
In his first speech on the issue since the invasion of Ukraine, Mr Putin also accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and noted “statements of some high-ranking representatives from the leading Nato states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia”.
He also welcomed plans to hold referendums in Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine on becoming integral parts of Russia.
Speaking at the National Ploughing Championships in Co Laois, Mr Martin said: "It's a grave speech in terms of the import of what he is saying, it's an attempt to annex territory, coerce people in Ukraine and the veiled threat of nuclear deployment is a very serious one.
"I think the West and European Union has to be very resilient in support of Ukraine, and the territorial integrity of Ukrainian sovereignty, the Ukrainian people and their right to a future as a country."
Mr Martin added that Russia "needs to realise" that there is now no alternative other than a diplomacy-based resolution.
Earlier, US president Joe Biden said he was ready to make the case to world leaders at the UN General Assembly that Russia’s “naked aggression” in Ukraine is an affront to what the international body stands for.
Mr Biden is looking to rally allies to stand firm in backing the Ukrainian resistance to Mr Putin.