Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Wednesday in New York against the temptation of alternative dialogue initiatives to his peace plan in order not to give encouragement or political space to Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue the war. In an attempt to gather more support after two and a half years of war, and when the world’s attention is focused on the high volatility of the Middle East, the Ukrainian president asked the 193 member countries of the UN not to forget the Russian aggression, with a message before the General Assembly, meeting in its 79th session. In it, he specifically addressed Brazil and China, whom he warned that he will not allow them to increase their power as global actors at the expense of Ukraine, that is, thanks to their own peace initiatives to end the conflict. “When some propose alternative, half-hearted settlement plans, they not only ignore the interests and suffering of Ukrainians, who are the most affected by the war; “Not only do they ignore reality, but they give Putin the political space to continue the war and threaten the world to subjugate more nations,” he said.
Russia is a threat to many other countries besides Ukraine, Zelensky warned. Despite its size, “it still wants more land, more land, which is crazy, and it seizes it day by day while it wants to destroy its neighbor,” specifically those bordering Europe and Central Asia, “who feel that the war could come to them as well.” To counter this threat, he presented Ukraine as a bulwark against the Kremlin’s expansionist desires. As a brake and also as the victim that sacrifices itself on the front line of fire to avoid contagion. “It is the Ukrainian people who feel all the pain of this war. It is Ukrainian children who are learning to distinguish the signals of different types of artillery and drones because of Russia’s war.”
To underline the Russian threat beyond the battlefield, Zelensky stressed the dangers of a hypothetical nuclear catastrophe posed by war, saying that Russian troops still occupy the Zaporizhia power plant – they have done so since March 2022 – and warning that a nuclear catastrophe would go beyond “state borders”. “The power plant is still occupied by Russian forces. Unfortunately. We are exposed to a nuclear incident. This is the greatest source of radiation danger in Europe, possibly in the world. That is why, in the Peace Formula that I presented, the first point is about nuclear security,” he said, referring to his peace plan, which he considers the only one capable of ending the war and whose points he will discuss this Thursday with the president of the United States, Joe Biden, the vice president and Democratic candidate for the November elections, Kamala Harris, and the Republican candidate, Donald Trump.
Zelensky repeatedly called for continued support “from all nations” to prevent war fatigue from distracting their attention – and their material contribution in aid – to other poles, especially the information magnet of the Middle East due to the regional escalation of violence, and singled out two countries, North Korea and Iran, for getting closer to the Kremlin. “A revealing choice of the kind of friends” that are chosen, he stressed. To start with, Zelensky takes with him from the UN a joint declaration of support for the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, signed by thirty countries and the European Union at the request of the White House, and presented by President Biden himself this Wednesday on the sidelines of the General Assembly. A clear sign, at least on paper of intentions, of the international support for Ukraine requested by Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president also denounced the veto mechanism in the Security Council, which has allowed Russia, one of its five permanent members, to torpedo all initiatives favourable to kyiv. The reform of the Council – the UN’s command bridge and veto system inherited from the Cold War – has been expressly raised in this session of the Assembly, from the Secretary General, António Guterres, to President Biden.
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The day before, in a speech to the 15 members of the Security Council, Zelensky declared that “only Russia can be forced to make peace” – an imposition immediately rejected by the Kremlin – and urged them to remain vigilant and alert in the face of war. “Russia is committing an international crime. This war cannot simply fade away, this war cannot be calmed by talks. Action is needed. Only Russia can be forced to make peace,” he said in a brief but impassioned speech. He also informed the Council that Ukraine has information about Moscow’s plans to attack its three nuclear power plants.
On his peace plan, he did not go into details, except to report that he plans to invite China and India to the conference he plans to hold on his “victory plan,” based on the principles of the UN Charter The details of which will be revealed on Thursday in Washington. The document broadly covers the content of his first initiative, launched in the autumn of 2022 at the G-20 summit in Indonesia. But the real objective of the visit is none other than to get Biden to give the green light for Ukraine to be able to use long-range missiles, provided by NATO, to expand its penetration into Russia.
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