"We absolutely condemn the illegal invasion and escalation of it."
Those were the words of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, following a worrying escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war and President Vladimir Putin's latest threat of nuclear conflict.
In a rare televised address, Putin on Wednesday said any threat on Russian soil could be met with weapons of mass destruction as he announced 300,000 military reservists would be sent to Ukraine in what he called a "partial mobilisation".
Putin's comments marked a major escalation in rhetoric, just days after announcing a string of "referendums" in eastern Ukraine to determine the fate of occupied territories.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden said Putin's words would only lead to more bloodshed.
"Again, just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats against Europe, in a reckless disregard for the responsibilities of the nonproliferation regime," Biden said.
"A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," he added.
The EU also condemned Russia's statements and said they must stop.
Since Putin's announcement, prices for one-way tickets out of Russia have sky-rocketed - with flights leaving this week selling out in hours.
The Kremlin won't say whether the borders would be closed for those subject to the mobilisation order.
Ardern is at the General Assembly and has been listening to world leaders discussing the Ukraine-Russia situation at the UN, where she's held a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
It was her first formal in-person meeting with a senior official from Ukraine, having previously spoken with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the phone.
During the half-hour meeting, the Prime Ministers discussed recent events in the war and Ardern expressed New Zealand's ongoing support for Ukraine.
Shymhal thanked Ardern for New Zealand's strong, swift and ongoing support.
The pair also disccused future work around post-conflict reconstruction.
Speaking to reporters in New York earlier, Ardern said there was every reason to be concerned about the "extraordinary" escalation of the war.
"To claim that they would use and could use any other additional weapons that are available to them flies in the face of the lie they have told that they are there to liberate others, and yet they would use the threat of such weapons against them.
"This, for me, highlights just the falsehood around this war."
Ardern said New Zealand stood "firmly against the escalation of this illegal invasion".
"Here, clearly, Putin has threatened escalation and we absolutely condemn the illegal invasion and escalation of it.
"What's deeply concerning is how freely he's talking about the use of those weapons.
"What we need here is a rallying cry from the world. What is happening in Ukraine is illegal, it's immoral, it's causing the loss of civilian lives and that loss could extend if, as Putin has claimed, he broadens the type of weapons he uses in this war."
Zelenskiy, who would address the UN via a pre-recorded video message later on Thursday morning (NZ time), told Germany's BILD TV there was a shrinking likelihood of holding talks with Putin to end the war.
