Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the third time since Russia's deadly invasion began more than two and a half years ago, but this time he directly attacked countries that back Moscow: China, North Korea and Iran.
Zelenskiy has long been a follower of maintaining ambiguous geopolitical relations in the midst of war, but now for the first time he condemned not only countries that directly supply arms to Moscow, but also those that continue to refuse to support Ukraine's demands that Russian President Vladimir Putin withdraw his troops.
“We need to be clear that the war is over. This is the formula for peace. What part of this is unacceptable to those who adhere to the UN Charter?” he asked. “If anyone in the world is looking for an alternative, it means they themselves would like to do some of the things Putin is doing.” [It] It reveals their hidden desires.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Seeger (Reuters/Mike Seeger)
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“And when two people, a Chinese and a Brazilian, join forces with someone in Europe and someone in Africa to plead for something other than a full and just peace, the question arises: what are the real interests?”
Zelenskiy's remarks were a reference to China's attempts for months to get other countries to back a six-point peace plan it introduced in May in coordination with Brazil, rather than backing the 10-point peace plan first adopted by Ukraine in 2022.
The Chinese plan has not been well received by the West, not only because it lacks concrete steps to actually end the war, but also because it does not explicitly call for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.
The Chinese delegation has not addressed the UN body, but Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday encouraged joint planning.
Zelenskiy struck a similarly assertive tone, accusing Iran and North Korea of providing direct military aid to Russia – a step he has never taken before at an international forum, though Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to fund its military for more than two years.
Firefighters help a local woman escape a home destroyed by a Russian drone strike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 17, 2022. Local authorities believe the attack was carried out by an Iranian-made Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), in Kyiv, Ukraine, amid Russia's strikes on Ukraine. (Reuters/Vladislav Musienko)
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One topic that Ukrainian leaders touch on regularly and that drew attention this time around was the threat that Russia poses to nuclear security.
President Zelenskyy has previously told the UN General Assembly that nuclear security is not just a Ukrainian issue, and on Wednesday warned that “radiation crosses borders.”
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's energy sector, particularly in moves to cut off Ukraine's power sources during the winter.
“Russia has destroyed all of Ukraine's thermal power plants and most of its hydroelectric capacity. This is how Putin is preparing for winter and causing suffering to millions of Ukrainians,” he said.
A screenshot from a video released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows a fire at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Zaporizhia, Ukraine on August 11, 2024. (Photo by the Presidential Administration of Ukraine/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Zelenskiy said Putin plans to employ the same tactic as winter closes in, but also to target nuclear power plants in order to take them off the power grid — a tactic reportedly employed with the help of satellite imagery provided by another country, though he did not say which one.
“Since Russia is unable to break the resistance of our people on the battlefield, President Putin is looking for other ways to break the spirit of Ukraine,” Zelensky warned.
