Russia is committing ‘genocide’ and ‘pushing the world towards the final war’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at the UN General Assembly today, 19 September 2023. The leader of Kiev speaks in the Glass Palace with a speech obviously dedicated to the conflict that began over 18 months ago.
“We know the names of tens of thousands of children and we have evidence of hundreds of others kidnapped by Russia in the occupied territories and then deported”, says Zelensky, recalling that “the international criminal court has issued arrest orders for these crimes”.
“We are trying to bring these children home, but time passes and what will happen to them?” he adds, explaining that these children deported to Russia will be taught to hate Ukraine and all their ties to their families will be broken . “This is clearly genocide”.
“MOSCOW USES FOOD AS A WEAPON”
For Zelensky, “Russia’s attempt to use the lack of food on the global market to obtain recognition of some, if not all, of the occupied territories in exchange is clear.” The Ukrainian president accuses Russia of using not only weapons in its war of aggression, but of “turning many other things into weapons”, such as food and energy. “Russia is using food prices as a weapon,” he says, stating that Ukraine, after the blocking of the grain deal, is working to establish other routes and corridors, including land ones, to export its food products. “Support our initiatives”, adds Zelensky, addressing the audience.
Nuclear chapter: “Russia is using nuclear energy as a weapon. Not only is it spreading its unreliable technologies for building nuclear power plants, but it is also turning other countries’ nuclear plants into dirty bombs,” he says, in reference to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia.
ZELENSKY’S APPEAL: “UNITED AGAINST THE AGGRESSOR”
“We must act united to defeat the aggressor, we must concentrate our capabilities and energy to face these challenges”, says the Ukrainian president recalling the long list of conflicts started by Russia: “When hatred is used as a weapon against a nation, it doesn’t stop there. Every decade Russia starts a new war: parts of Moldova and Georgia are still occupied, Russia has turned Syria into ruins.” Then again: “Russia has almost swallowed Belarus, and is obviously threatening Kazakhstan and other Baltic countries.”
“The objective of the current war is to transform our land, our people, our lives, our resources into a weapon against votes, against the order based on international laws”, says Zelensky again. “Many seats in the General Assembly chamber could remain empty if Russia were to succeed with its aggression and betrayal,” he concluded, urging us to stop it: “we must act to defeat the aggressor.”
“As Russia pushes the world towards the final war, Ukraine is doing everything it can to ensure that, after Russian aggression, no one in the world dares attack another nation. We are now working on a comprehensive peace summit,” he adds, without specifying when the summit should take place. Zelensky refers to Ukraine’s peace formula, presented for the first time in his videoconference speech to the Assembly last year, explaining which intends to present it in more detail to the Security Council tomorrow.
“The Ukrainian peace formula is becoming global – he says again, referring to the fact that it has obtained the support of over 140 states and entities -: it aims to offer solutions and steps that will resolve all forms of aggression used by Russia against Ukraine and other countries”.
