Biden slams Putin's 'reckless' nuclear threat

President Joe Biden on Wednesday slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threat as "reckless" and accused him of "shamelessly violating the core tenets" of the United Nations charter by invading Ukraine.

During a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Biden accused Putin of making "overt nuclear threats against Ukraine in reckless disregard for [his] responsibilities." 

He said it was a "brutal needless war, a war chosen by one man, to be very blunt," The Telegraph reported. 

Biden's speech was rewritten after Putin ordered "partial" military mobilization and hinted at deploying nuclear weapons earlier that day. Putin's announcement was the largest escalation of the war since the invasion began nearly seven months ago, and it is the Kremlin's first call-up since World War II.

The president warned Putin to not use nuclear weapons in an interview over the weekend, but he would not say what the consequences would be.