ANKARA (AA) - Australia on Wednesday joined its Western allies in condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin's partial military mobilization and referendums in four Ukrainian regions, calling for a withdrawal of its forces from Ukraine.
"Australia condemns President Putin’s threats to use “all means" at his disposal. Claims of defending Russia's territorial integrity are untrue," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Twitter. "Russia should immediately withdraw from Ukraine and cease its illegal, immoral aggression against Ukraine."
Regarding the planned referendums in Ukraine's self-declared republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, and Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson later this week, the foreign minister said: "Russia continues to plan sham referenda in occupied areas of Ukraine. These are illegitimate and invalid.
"They won’t form a lawful basis for any purported acquisition of Ukraine’s territory by Russia and won’t be recognised by the international community."
The call up of 300,000 reservists comes after successful Ukrainian counterattacks over the past days.
Putin, who ordered the "special military operation" against Ukraine in February, also vowed to use “all means at its disposal” if Russia’s territorial integrity is in danger, which was widely interpreted as a nuclear threat.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid