Ukraine’s president has urged global leaders to stand with his country and not seek “a lull” instead of a “real, just peace” more than two years into Russia’s war.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered the message during an address to the UN General Assembly in New York Wednesday, rallying support for his 2022 “peace formula” that demands the expulsion of Russian forces from Ukraine and justice for war crimes.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve a lull instead of an end to the war,” Zelenskyy told the UN body more than 31 months into the blistering war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Zelenskyy also singled out China and Brazil for pushing what he called “half-hearted settlement plans”, accusing them of playing to their own interests “at Ukraine’s expense”.
On Friday, representatives of 20 UN states are set to discuss a six-point peace plan drafted by China and Brazil as an alternative to Zelenskyy’s proposal. The plan calls for non-escalation, a boost in humanitarian assistance, efforts to stop nuclear proliferation and an international conference backed by both Russia and Ukraine.
Fear of nuclear fallout
Zelenskyy’s UN address came as Russian forces claimed further advances in eastern Ukraine, including seizing the settlements of Gostre and Grigorivka in the Donetsk region.
Despite waging a surprise counteroffensive in Russia’s Kursk region in August, Ukraine has continued suffering a series of battlefield losses in the east.
Kyiv now fears intensified Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, much of which is already battered by the war, could leave it further exposed during the upcoming winter months.
“Since Russia can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield, Putin is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit,” Zelenskyy told the UN assembly. “One of his methods is targeting our energy infrastructure.”
The Ukrainian leader specifically warned of potential Russian attacks on the country’s nuclear power plants, saying he had received intelligence alerts of such plans.
“If God forbid, Russia causes a disaster in one of our nuclear power plants, radiation will not respect state borders. And unfortunately, various nations could feel the devastating effects,” Zelenskyy warned.
White House meeting
Zelenskyy will continue pressing for backing in the war Thursday during a much-anticipated meeting with US President Joe Biden. During the meeting at the White House, Zelenskyy plans to present details of a revamped “victory plan”, which he said includes “quick and concrete steps by our strategic partners”.
The Ukrainian leader is also expected to push for authorisation to use US-supplied ballistic missiles deeper inside Russian territory, a move Washington has feared would escalate the conflict.
Zelenskyy also plans to convene separately with Vice President Kamala Harris, US presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump, and Congress while in Washington.
Trump on Wednesday described Ukraine as a “demolished” country and referred to its people as “dead”, raising questions about how much the former president would be willing if elected again to concede in a negotiation over the country’s future.
Trump argued Ukraine should have made concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the months before Russia’s February 2022 attack, declaring that even “the worst deal would’ve been better than what we have now.”
“If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built and every tower would be ageing for another 2,000 years,” he said in
remarks at a North Carolina event billed as an economic speech.
“What deal can we make? It’s demolished,” he added. “The people are dead. The country is in rubble.”
