Joe Biden bangs the drum for Ukraine at the UN

Is the US-led coalition's support for Kyiv in the war all about punishing Russia for its aggression or has it always been about Autocracy versus Democracy? Joe Biden in his speech to the United Nations General Assemby today made it clear that in his mind it was the rest of the world against the autocracy of Russia and China and he wanted every other nation to join the battle against the two nations who appear to be determined to change the world order and replace America's "rules-based order" - ie democracy - with autocratic government. These days any denouncement of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is also implicitly linked to a warning to Beijing to leave Taiwan alone. But neither Putin nor Xi Zinping were there to hear Biden's speech. This is the way it is now. Putin can't go anywhere because he might be arrested for war crimes, and Xi can't go anywhere because of all the economic and social troubles facing his leadership back home. So much for the power of autocracy. So on this day at least, the democracy-loving president of the United States was able to hold court before all the other world leaders and to remind them that the war in Ukraine was not just a territorial dispute but a conflict threatening the world order. I doubt either Putin or Xi were listening. But they will still get the message, even if they do nothing about it.