Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for peace in a speech shown at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday (21) and said that all countries know “who is the only one who wants war”, without directly naming the Russian leader. , Vladimir Putin.
“Europe wants peace. The world wants peace. There is only one entity among all UN member states that would say now, if they could interrupt my speech, that they are happy with this war,” he added. “But we’re not going to let this entity prevail over us, even though it’s the biggest state in the world.”
In a recorded and video-streamed speech, Zelensky laid out in English what he said were five non-negotiable conditions for peace: punishment for Russian aggression, protection of life, restoration of Ukraine’s security, the country’s territorial integrity and security guarantees.
“A crime has been committed against Ukraine and we demand just punishment,” he said, describing the death and destruction that “Russia has wrought with its illegal war.”
Zelensky called for the creation of a special UN tribunal to punish Russia, a country that should be deprived of its right of veto in the organization’s Security Council, he said.
The speech came hours after Vladimir Putin said he would order the mobilization of up to 300,000 reservists for the ongoing war and would be willing to use nuclear weapons if necessary.
Zelensky himself had already spoken on the matter earlier, when he said he did not believe that the world would allow Russia to use nuclear weapons in the war in his country.
But other leaders have expressed alarm at Putin’s threats. In an incisive speech to the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden condemned the Russian’s course of action, saying that “a nuclear war cannot be won, and must never be fought”. French leader Emmanuel Macron said the decision “will only increase the isolation” of Moscow. And Pope Francis called the possibility that the Ukrainian War could involve nuclear weapons “a madness”.
On the other geopolitical axis, China called for a ceasefire and dialogue between the conflicting nations. Last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Putin in Uzbekistan at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization event. Xi has avoided openly supporting Russia in the war, although he has frequently criticized the West.
Vladimir Putin’s speech comes at a time when Russia is racking up defeats in Ukraine, having lost the Kharkiv region. Despite expressly stating in the broadcast that his message was not a bluff, many analysts viewed the speech primarily as a way to escalate the war.
The Russian president’s speech was followed by internal turmoil. Flights out of Russia quickly sold out, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny called on the people to protest against the mobilization of reservists. There were also reports that the population was already being called to war and that, in a city in the south of the country, the police were preventing men from leaving. A monitoring group said more than 100 people were arrested in demonstrations hours after the broadcast.
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