Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged the world powers to stop Russia’s war in his country to avoid a destructive arms race in an address to the United Nations general assembly on Wednesday.
"Stopping Putin now is cheaper than trying to protect every port and every ship from terrorists with sea drones. Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to build a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead. So we must use everything we have to force the aggressor to stop,” Zelenskiy told the assembly.
“Ten years ago war looked different and no one could have imagined that cheap drones could create death zones stretching for dozens of kilometres where nothing moves, no vehicles, no life. People used to imagine that only after a nuclear strike. Now it is drone reality, and without AI yet,” he said. Referring to Russia’s recent breach of airspace of multiple NATO countries, Zelenskiy said: “Putin was intent on driving the war forward, wider and deeper … to continue this war by expanding it.”
"Now Russian drones are already flying across Europe, and Russian operations are already spreading across countries...Putin wants to continue this war by expanding it, and no one can feel safe right now.”
Furthermore, Zelenskiy said “only friends and weapons” protected countries, and not international law or UN resolutions. The Ukrainian leader condemned the European countries’ continued purchase of Russian energy resources, stating that every country faced a choice between peace or helping Russia by continuing to trade with Moscow.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump took a much stronger stance against the Kremlin. Writing on Truth Social platform after his meeting with Zelenskiy, Trump said Kyiv regain control all of its Russian-held territories with patience and with the help of European allies. Trump also downplayed Russian army’s capabilities, comparing Russia to a “paper tiger”. Trump’s pro-Ukrainian rhetoric marked a major U-turn on his stance.
In his address to the UN assembly, Zelenskiy did not give any evaluation of the situation in the frontline, nor did he comment on Trump's earlier pro-Ukrainian rhetoric.
