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| Photo Credit: AP. |
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s president laid out a detailed case against Russia’s invasion at the United Nations and demanded punishment from world leaders in a speech delivered just hours after Moscow made an extraordinary announcement that it would mobilize some reservists for the war effort.
Buoyed by a
counteroffensive that has retaken swaths of territory that the Russians seized,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed in a video address Wednesday that his forces would
not stop until they had reclaimed all of Ukraine.
“We can
return the Ukrainian flag to our entire territory. We can do it with the force
of arms,” the president said in a speech delivered in English. “But we need
time.”
Video
speeches by Zelenskyy in an olive green T-shirt have become almost commonplace.
But this speech was one of the most keenly anticipated at the U.N. General
Assembly, where the war has dominated.
The conflict
took center stage again Thursday at a Security Council session, where the
United States and its allies planned to ramp up criticism of Russia and press
other countries to join in their forceful condemnations of the conflict.
In a news
conference ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said
“no words of condemnation can stop the Russian army.”
“What can stop them is the Ukrainian army,
equipped with modern weapons coming from our partners,” he said. “The best way
to stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is to provide weapons to Ukraine.”
“And justice
is one of those weapons,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna
interjected.
The war has
popped up in speeches by leaders from all over the world who deplored the
invasion not least because they said it was not consistent with the cornerstone
principles of the United Nations — including respect for sovereignty.
“It’s an
attack on this very institution where we find ourselves today,” said Moldovan
President President Maia Sandu, whose country borders Ukraine.
U.S.
President Joe Biden’s address, too, focused heavily on the war in Ukraine.
“This war is
about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and
Ukraine’s right to exist as a people. Whoever you are, wherever you live,
whatever you believe, that should make your blood run cold,” he said. “If
nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequences, then we put
at risk everything this very institution stands for. Everything.”
Russia
hasn’t yet had its turn to speak at the gathering.
Putin, who
is not attending the General Assembly, has said he sent his armed forces into
Ukraine because of risks to his country’s security from what he considers a
hostile government in Kyiv; to liberate Russians living in Ukraine — especially
its eastern region of the Donbas — from what he views as the Ukrainian
government’s oppression; and to restore what he considers to be Russia’s
historical territorial claims on the country.
Zelenskyy’s
speech was distinguished by its context. It took place after Moscow’s
extraordinary mobilization announcement. It was the first time Zelenskyy
addressed the world’s leaders gathered together since Russia invaded in
February. And it wasn’t delivered at the rostrum where other presidents, prime
ministers and monarchs speak — but instead by video after Zelenskyy was granted
special permission to not come in person.
Putin’s
decree Wednesday about the mobilization was sparse on details. Officials said
as many as 300,000 reservists could be tapped. It was apparently an effort to
seize momentum after the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
But the
first such call-up in Russia since World War II also brought the fighting home
in a new way for Russians and risked fanning domestic anxiety and antipathy
toward the war. Shortly after Putin’s announcement, flights out of the country
rapidly filled up, and more than 1,000 people were arrested at rare antiwar
demonstrations across the country.
Zelenskyy
didn’t discuss the developments in detail. But he suggested any Russian talk of
negotiations was only a delaying tactic, and that Moscow’s actions speak louder
than its words.
“They talk about the talks but announce
military mobilization. They talk about the talks but announce
pseudo-referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine,” he said.
Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, contended that the mobilization was a
sign was is “failing and flailing” in Ukraine.
Zelenskky
asserted that Moscow wants to spend the winter preparing its forces in Ukraine
for a new offensive, or at least preparing fortifications while mobilizing more
troops in the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II
“Russia
wants war. It’s true. But Russia will not be able to stop the course of
history,” he said, declaring that “mankind and the international law are
stronger” than what he called a “terrorist state.”
Associated
Press journalist Andrew Katell contributed from New York. For more AP coverage
of the U.N. General Assembly, visit
https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly