Putin isolated, cornered after brutal annexations

Russia’s ignominious retreat from the strategic Ukrainian town of Lyman exposed the falsehood of Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Friday that he had “annexed” the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Despite the effrontery of Mr Putin’s statement, his assertion of Russian sovereignty “forever” over the four regions was as bogus as the so-called referendums that preceded it. The reality of what is happening on the ground in Ukraine is far removed from the Russian despot’s tirades.

Lyman in Donetsk is at the heart of territory Mr Putin claims to control. It has been a key logistics and communications hub for Moscow’s war effort. According to Russia’s Defence Ministry, thousands of Russian soldiers, encircled by Ukrainian forces, “withdrew”. Facing defeat, they fled. As a rejoinder to Mr Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling, this new battlefield setback is significant. It prompted one of Mr Putin’s staunchest supporters, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, to call for the “use of low-yield nuclear weapons”. Russia’s defeat in Lyman opened the way to further Ukrainian advances in the allegedly annexed regions. It also adds weight to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement that termed Mr Putin’s annexation announcement “the most serious escalation since the start of the war”. Mr Putin asserted his determination to defend the four regions he now considers fully integrated parts of Russia “with all means available”, inferring, again, the threat of using nuclear weapons.

The situation demands a resolute response. Sunday’s announcement by the Albanese government puts Australia in the forefront of such moves. Denouncing the Russian referendums as “illegitimate”, Foreign Minister Penny Wong declared the annexations illegal. She announced additional financial sanctions and bans on 28 Russian-appointed ministers and senior officials. Australia has also joined Poland, France, Denmark, Britain, New Zealand and Germany in filing a “declaration of intervention” at the International Court of Justice to support a case against Russia under the Genocide Convention brought by Ukraine. Australia’s submission noted it was “one of the first countries to ratify the Genocide Convention in 1949”.

In the UN Security Council on Friday, Russia vetoed a resolution condemning Moscow’s assault on the sovereignty of independent, democratic Ukraine. Moscow’s increasing isolation, even from allies such as China, was clear. In abstaining, China’s representative spoke of the need for talks to end the war. India, too, contradicted months of refusing to condemn Russia and buying its cheap oil by abstaining. Turkey, under Mr Putin’s autocratic friend Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also changed course, condemning the Russian annexation announcement as “a grave violation of international laws”. Kazakhstan was also critical. A warning by the influential Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets that “Vladimir Putin has nowhere to retreat … so he’ll continue to attack” highlighted the threat the world faces. Mr Putin’s bluster about Western “Satanism” was crafted to imply use of nuclear weapons. Responsible governments must refuse to be coerced. The cohesion of an alliance of nations set on defeating Mr Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling has never mattered more. Mr Stoltenberg pledged NATO’s 30 member states would consider Ukraine’s request for the fast-tracking of its application for membership. They should not delay. NATO’s nuclear arsenal would ruin Mr Putin’s regime if it were used in retaliation against an attack by him. He should heed Joe Biden’s warning that “America’s fully prepared, with our NATO allies, to defend every inch of NATO territory … Mr Putin, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying … every inch.”