Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday that his country would never accept a deal imposed on it by other countries to end Russia’s 31-month invasion, questioning the motives of China and Brazil in pushing for talks with Moscow.
Instead, Zelenskyy called for adoption of his two-year-old proposal to restore internationally recognized boundaries between Russia and neighboring Ukraine before Moscow unilaterally seized the counntry's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and then invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow now controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
“We must uphold the U.N. Charter and guarantee our right — Ukraine’s right — to territorial integrity and sovereignty, just as we do for any other nation,” Zelenskyy said. “We need to withdraw the Russian occupying forces, which will bring an end to the hostilities in Ukraine.”
"Ukrainians will never accept — will never accept — why anyone in the world believes that such a brutal colonial past, which suits no one today, can be imposed on Ukraine now," he told the 193-member Assembly.
“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?” he said, appearing to allude to developing nations where Russian propaganda has proven effective.
“Everyone must understand — you won’t boost your power at Ukraine’s expense,” Zelenskyy said. “The world has already been through colonial wars and conspiracies of great powers at the expense of those who are smaller.”
Every nation, Zelenskyy added, “including China, Brazil, European nations, African nations, and Middle East, all understand why this must remain in the past. And Ukrainians will never accept why anyone in the world believes that such a brutal colonial past, which suits no one today, can be imposed on Ukraine now instead of a normal, peaceful life.”
Since Russia "can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield,” he said, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking “other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit.”
“One of his methods is targeting our energy infrastructure,” the Ukrainian leader said. “These are deliberate Russian attacks on our power plants, and the entire energy grid. As of today, 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 of Ukrainians.”
Zelenskyy’s address before the annual meeting in New York came a day after he told the U.N. Security Council that Putin will not stop hostilities on his own and “can only be forced into peace.”
At the same meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged nations to support Ukraine, saying it is fighting for its survival.
"If countries stopped supporting Russia, Putin's invasion would soon come to an end," he said. "If countries stopped supporting Ukraine, Ukraine could soon come to an end."
Russia's envoy dismissed Blinken's fears for Ukraine.
"It's not threatened with anything. We are not fighting against it," Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said of Ukraine. "We are fighting against a criminal regime which seized power in Kyiv and is bringing its people towards catastrophe. And this is not a war for territory, regardless of the claims of our foes. This is a struggle for acknowledgment of people's rights."
The General Assembly meeting is also hearing other leaders on Wednesday, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine.
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