- By RFE/RL
And that's all from our live-blog coverage of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's speech at the United Nations today.
For continuing coverage of Zelenskiy's U.S. visit -- including a potentially consequential meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on September 26 -- be sure to follow all of RFE/RL's essential coverage:
In Ukrainian at Radio Svoboda
In Russian, at Radio Svoboda and Current Time
And in English at RFE/RL
Not everyone was satisfied with Zelenskiy's speech.
Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, an opposition lawmaker, thought Zelenskiy could have been more pointed in his criticism of Russia, she told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
"I believe he should have been harsher in addressing the Russian Federation's unacceptable actions. Some of the sharp edges were smoothed over, and I felt a stronger tone was needed," she said.
During his speech, Zelenskiy criticized the peace proposals floated by China and Brazil and he hinted at the use of third-party satellite data -- potentially Chinese -- in targeting Ukrainian nuclear facilities.
Still, Klympush-Tsyntsadze said she was dissatisfied with Zelenskiy's overall rhetoric toward Beijing.
"Just yesterday, we heard U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speak openly about the unacceptability of China's assistance to Russia and evidence of such support," she said. "But Ukraine avoids these accusations, and our president does not make them explicitly."
Beijing has yet to officially respond to the allegations regarding its involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine.
KYIV -- Zelenskiy's UN speech was not the focus for many people that RFE/RL spoke on September 25, but most were at least aware of his U.S. trip.
Kostyantyn Novokhaskiy, 75, a pensioner and former archivist, had little hope that Zelenskiy's speech or his U.S. visit as a whole would change much.
"We had been hoping for the war to end back in 2022 and 2023 and now we know it will last for many years," he said.
Vladyslav, a 47-year-old soldier in the Kyiv air defense system who did not give his surname due to military protocol, was waiting for a bus after his shift.
"I think Zelenskiy's speech won't help. The allies will give us even fewer weapons. We have no choice but to defend ourselves," Vladyslav said. "The situation on the front lines is difficult."
Taisia Lizun, 54, an engineer who survived the Russian occupation of Bucha outside Kyiv early in the full-scale invasion, gave a coin to a soldier playing a trumpet to collect money.
"We hope for a miracle. We hope the world will hear us even if it did not for more than two years," Lizun said.
"I expect we will get more weapons and permission to hit Russian territory. We don't want to attack civilians, but we need to stop the Russian Army," she said. "We don't want to fight to the last Ukrainian, but Russia is pushing us."
In his speech, Zelenskiy singled out China for its role in Russia's war against Ukraine. That, said lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko, marks a potential shift in Kyiv’s previously cautious approach toward Beijing.
"He was bold in his criticism, pointing out that this plan seems to serve Russia’s interests," Merezhko, who heads the international affairs committee in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service. "We can observe a growing willingness from Zelenskiy and his administration to openly call out China’s support for Russia in the war."
Zelenskiy also hinted at Ukraine's concern over the use of satellite data by Russia, possibly provided by third-party nations, which could be used to target Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
The comments followed an earlier interview with ABC News on September 24, where he suggested that Russia might be using Chinese satellite technology to conduct such surveillance.
Zelenskiy’s administration have in the past tried maintain constructive relations with China, despite its strategic partnership with Russia. The UN speech may signal a change in approach.
These remarks reflect an evolving stance from Kyiv, which has previously sought to maintain constructive relations with China, despite its strategic partnership with Russia.
- By Current Time
Zelenskiy’s warning on what he claimed were Russian plans to attack Ukraine’s nuclear power plants was also raised by the Ukrainian leader to the Security Council a day earlier. Zelenskiy told the council’s 15 members that Ukraine had obtained information that Russia was planning to attack its three nuclear plants.
“We have proof of this. If Russia is ready to go that far, it means nothing you value matters to Moscow,” he said.
In the past, Zelenskiy has warned about risks to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya plant. In 2023, Zelenskiy said Russian forces had placed devices resembling explosives on the roofs of that plant’s reactors.
Zelenskiy also told NBC News that year THAT Russia "does want to blow up" the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.
Key Takeaways From Zelenskiy's Speech
- By Mike Eckel
Short and sweet, Zelenskiy’s speech hit on many of the same points that Ukrainian officials have made repeatedly over the duration of the war.
There were, however, no bombshells, no shocking revelations, no major policy proposals, no graphic accusations of the sort that have regularly been leveled at Russia since its February 2022 invasion.
So what did he say? Here are the some of the main takeaways from his United Nations speech:
- Zelenskiy faithfully kept to the 15-minute time limit imposed by the General Assembly’s leaders, seeming determined to deliver a compelling but pithy plea for unity in support of Ukraine's defense against Russia. "Be united nations," he urged the world.
- He reminded the world of the precarious state of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which has been pounded relentlessly by Russian air strikes. The danger that next winter will be brutal for millions of Ukrainians is high, he said. “Putin wants to leave them in the dark and cold this winter, forcing Ukraine to suffer and surrender. Just imagine, please, your country with 80 percent of its energy system gone – with such a destroyed part of the system. What kind of life would that be?”
- The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the country’s biggest and a major source of electricity, has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, and fears have run high that there could be some sort of radioactive leak as a result of fighting. During this speech, Zelenskiy outright accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of planning attacks on nuclear facilities. “God forbid, Russia causes a nuclear disaster at one of our nuclear power plants. Radiation won’t respect state borders, and unfortunately, various nations could feel the devastating effects.”
- Several countries got dinged by name by Zelenskiy, notably China and Brazil, whom he asserted had shown little indication of a genuine push to end the war. "When some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores the interests and suffering of Ukrainians...it not only ignores reality, but also gives Putin the political space to continue the war…. You will not boost your power at Ukraine's expense."
- By Mike Eckel
Zelenskiy dings the UN Security Council -- where Russia and the four other permanent members hold powerful veto power -- suggesting that it has been an impediment to resolving the war.
He also singles out China and Brazil for proposing alternative resolution plans, suggesting that they’re siding with Russian positions.
“Peace is needed. And it must be a real, just peace,” he said.
“The peace formula has already existed two years. Maybe someone wants a Nobel Prize for a frozen conflict -- but the only prize Putin will give you in return is…more disasters,” he says.
“Slava Ukraini,” Zelenskiy says as he closes his speech: the phrase, which means “Glory to Ukraine,” is effectively the national mantra, a patriotic greeting and expression of solidarity.
- By Mike Eckel
Zelenskiy now highlighting his past peace plans, and appealing to world leaders, to try and highlight the dangers of the war and its consequences spreading beyond Ukraine’s borders.
“It’s important that everyone knows that Ukraine wants to end this war more than anyone else in the world,” he said. “It’s the Ukrainian people who feel the full pain of this war. It is the Ukrainian children who are learning to determine the different sounds of shells” fired in this war,” he said.
“There cannot be a just peace without Ukraine,” he said.