US President Joe Biden, during a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, called to continue supporting Ukraine in the defensive war against the Russian Federation.
"Russia believes that the world will get tired and allow it to mock Ukraine with impunity. But I ask you: If we abandon the basic principles of the UN Charter in order to appease an aggressor, can any member state be sure that it is protected? If we allow Ukraine to be divided, will the independence of any nation be ensured? The answer is no. We must confront this undisguised aggression today in order to deter other potential aggressors tomorrow," Biden said.
He added that this is why the United States and allies around the world "will continue to support the brave people of Ukraine who are defending their sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi also delivered a speech at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
"Subsequent history proved that it was Russia that most deserved nuclear disarmament back then, in the 1990s. Russia deserves disarmament even now: terrorists have no right to possess nuclear weapons," the head of state said.
Zelensky emphasized that Russia also turns many other things into weapons, and these things are used "not only against our country, but also against all other countries."
According to him, the Kremlin is trying to use the shortage of food on the world market as a weapon in exchange for recognizing the occupation of some — if not all — captured territories.
Russia, Zelensky continued, is turning nuclear energy into a weapon.
"Look what Russia has done to our Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant: shelled it, occupied it and now blackmails others with the threat of a radiation leak," he said.
The president also said that he is aware of attempts to conclude some shady deals with Russia, "however, evil cannot be trusted."
- The 78th session of the UN General Assembly takes place in New York from September 12 to 30. Zelenskyi and his wife Olena arrived in the USA on September 18. He has already held several meetings on the sidelines of the General Assembly, in particular with the presidents of Kenya and South Africa.