Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov bitterly criticised Western nations over the Ukraine war, telling the United Nations that the United States and its allies are seeking to "destroy" his country.
"The official Russophobia in the West is unprecedented. Now the scope is grotesque," Mr Lavrov said in a fiery UN General Assembly speech.
"They are not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict not only military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia."
After days of Western leaders denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Mr Lavrov used Russia's turn at the General Assembly rostrum to hit back at pressure on Moscow led by Washington.
The United States, he said, was "trying to turn the entire world into its own backyard."
"Declaring themselves victorious in the Cold War, Washington erected themselves almost into an envoy of God on Earth," operating with impunity as the "self-proclaimed masters of the world," he said.
He also defended referendums Friday and Saturday in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, describing them as people claiming land "where their ancestors have been living for hundreds of years."
"Russia, of course, will respect the expression of the will of those people who for many long years have been suffering from the abuses of the neo-Nazis," he said, repeating a Moscow accusation against some officials in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government.
Mr Lavrov also slammed the European Union as "becoming an authoritarian, harsh, dictatorial entity."
Nuclear option
Russia faced broad condemnation at this week's UN General Assembly, particularly after President Vladimir Putin issued a veiled threat to use nuclear force against any menace to Russia's "territorial integrity."
When asked to clarify Russia's nuclear policy, particularly regarding Ukraine and the separatist regions, Mr Lavrov was vague.
"We have a doctrine for nuclear security which is an open document" laying out the cases in which use of the destructive weapons is acceptable, he said.
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The comments came after an explicit warning on Thursday by former President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced the remarks on the possible use of nuclear weapons, saying it is "absolutely unacceptable".
"Putin's and Lavrov's irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are absolutely unacceptable," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
China, India urge Russia to end war in Ukraine
The foreign ministers of China and India used their speeches before the UN General Assembly to urge a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on both Russia and Ukraine to "keep the crisis from spilling over" and from affecting developing countries.
"China supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis. The pressing priority is to facilitate talks for peace," Mr Wang said.
During his visit to the United Nations, Mr Wang met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in their first talks since the war began.
Earlier this month, Mr Putin acknowledged Chinese "concerns" about Ukraine during a meeting with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
India, unlike China, has a warm relationship with the United States but it has historic ties with Russia, its traditional defence supplier.
"As the Ukraine conflict continues to rage, we are often asked whose side we are on," said India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
"Our answer, each time, is straight and honest - India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there," he said.
"We are on the side that calls for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way out."
