Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the third time since Russia’s invasion began over two and a half years ago. This time, he directly criticized nations supporting Moscow: China, North Korea, and Iran.
Zelenskyy, known for his cautious approach to maintaining international relations during the war, for the first time publicly rebuked not only countries supplying weapons to Russia but also those remaining passive in their refusal to support Ukraine’s demand for Russia’s troop withdrawal.
“We need to make it clear the war is over. This is the peace formula – what part of this could be unacceptable to anyone who upholds the U.N. Charter?” he asked. “If someone in the world seeks alternatives…it likely means they themselves want to do a part of what Putin is doing. [It] reveals the desire they are hiding.”
“And when the Chinese-Brazilian duo tries to grow into a choir of voices with someone in Europe, with someone in Africa, saying something alternative to a full and just peace, the question arises – what is the true interest?”
Zelenskyy’s comments targeted China’s months-long effort to garner support for its peace plan, introduced in collaboration with Brazil in May, instead of backing Ukraine’s 10-point plan proposed in 2022.
China’s plan has been met with skepticism from Western nations, as it lacks concrete steps for ending the war and does not explicitly call for Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine.
While Chinese representatives have not addressed the U.N. body, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday expressed his support for the joint plan.
In a similarly forceful tone, Zelenskyy condemned Iran and North Korea for providing direct military assistance to Russia, a step he had previously avoided at the international meeting despite Russia’s aggression for over two years.
One topic consistently raised by the Ukrainian leader, and again brought to the forefront, is the threat Russia poses to nuclear security.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly reminded the UNGA that nuclear security is not solely a concern for Ukraine, and on Wednesday, he cautioned that “radiation will not respect state borders.”
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, aiming to cut the nation off from power sources, particularly during winter months.
“Russia has destroyed all our thermal power plants and a large part of our hydroelectric capacity. This is how Putin is preparing for winter, hoping to torment millions, millions of Ukrainians,” he stated.
Zelenskyy asserted that Putin is not only seeking to employ the same strategy as winter approaches but is also planning to disconnect power plants from the grid – a tactic allegedly implemented using satellite imagery provided by other nations, though Zelenskyy did not specify which ones.
“Since Russia can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield, Putin is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit,” Zelenskyy warned.