Among the world leaders Zelenskiy has been meeting with in New York: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who is stepping down as head of transatlantic alliance this year. He reassured Zelenskiy that Ukraine's future is in NATO:
For his part, Zelenskiy said he and Stoltenberg discussed increasing Ukraine’s air-defense capabilities.
“We discussed the need to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, the continuation of work to ensure that our country receives an invitation to join NATO as soon as possible, and the importance of timely implementation of all the agreements of the Washington Summit,” Zelenskiy wrote in a post to his Telegram channel.
- By Ivan Voronin
Zelenskiy’s U.S. trip and his talk of a “victory plan” have once again generated discussion and debate about the possibility of a negotiated settlement, but the sides remain very far apart. Zelenskiy told The New Yorker that “the victory plan is a plan that swiftly strengthens Ukraine. A strong Ukraine will force Putin to the negotiating table.”
In comments on an RFE/RL Russian Service program, political scientist Ivan Preobrezhensky pointed out that Putin has suggested Russia would not consider ceding any Ukrainian territory it has taken and, furthermore, wants to be handed the portions of four eastern and southern provinces that it does not control.
“Russia wants to get Kherson back and take Zaporizhzhye, without a fight and then, perhaps, if its conditions are satisfied, it will start some kind of peace talks,” Preobrazhensky said. “If you are given city after city without a fight, why negotiate peace? It seems that Moscow's position is simple: to get involved in any negotiation process from the toughest possible positions, and then see what can be bargained.”
Striking a different tone at the UN Security Council meeting on September 24 was Peter Szijjarto, foreign minister of Hungary, arguably the most Kremlin-friendly country within the EU.
Noting that weapons deliveries by the West to Ukraine have “absolutely not helped in bringing this war to an end,” Szijjarto said that the question now is what “is the quickest way to peace?”
Echoing that stance, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed that the more weapons are sent to the battlefield, the more difficult it is to achieve the goal of a cease-fire. He noted that “China has all along stood on the side of peace.”
- By Mike Eckel
Topping Zelenskiy’s wish list for his visit to the White House tomorrow: permission to hit Russian targets -- deeper inside of Russia -- using U.S. and other Western weaponry.
It’s a source of endless frustration for Ukrainian commanders, particularly in the face of the threat of Russian glide bombs. Those are “dumb” bombs that have been retrofitted with fins and guidance systems, allowing them to be dropped by jets far from the front lines. The effect is devastating: on neighborhoods, on energy infrastructure, on Ukrainian defensive positions.
Why is the Biden administration reluctant to approve longer-range use by the Ukrainians? It’s not entirely clear, though the wide consensus is that the administration fears crossing a Russian red line -- provoking a bigger, and more dangerous, Russian response.
Will Zelenskiy win over the Biden administration? Stay tuned.
- By Current Time
Current Time, RFE/RL’s 24/7 Russian-language TV channel, will also be streaming Zelenskiy’s speech live, and providing simultaneous Russian translation.
Watch here:
- By Mike Eckel
Zelenskiy, eschewing a formal coat and tie in favor of his trademark blue shirt with a Ukrainian trident, is now speaking. (Unusually, he is speaking English.)
He opens his speech condemning Russia attacks on Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhya. He says nuclear safety is one of the key points of his “victory plan” and calls for the return of the plant to Ukrainian control.
“Russia has destroyed all our thermal power plants and a large part of our hydroelectric capacity. This is what Putin is hoping for this winter,” he said. “Putin wants to leave [Ukrainians] in the dark, in the cold, to suffer.”
- 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.
- 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.
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."