"The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our lands, our people, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules based order,” Zelensky said during a meeting of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, in his first in-person address to the global body since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of his country.
He accused Russian leaders of terrorism and genocide, citing in particular the removal of Ukrainian children from the country, broadcaster CNN reported.
Zelensky also said that Russia was attempting to "weaponize the food shortage on the global market in exchange for recognition for some, if not all, of the captured territories."
He declared that Ukraine was "working to ensure food stability" on international markets.
"And I hope that many of you will join us in these efforts," he told the gathering. "We launched a temporary sea export corridor from our ports. And we are working hard to preserve the land routes for grain exports. And it is alarming to see how some in Europe, some of our friends in Europe, play out solidarity in a political theater – making a thriller from the grain. They may seem to play their own role but in fact they are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor."
Zelensky also said in his speech that Russia was "weaponizing nuclear energy."
"Not only it is spreading its unreliable nuclear power plant construction technologies, but it is also turning other countries' power plants into real dirty bombs," Zelensky said, as cited by Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
"While Russia is pushing the world to the final war, Ukraine is doing everything to ensure that after Russian aggression no one in the world will dare to attack any nation," he declared.
“Weaponization must be restrained, war crimes must be punished, deported people must come back home, and the occupier must return to their own land," he stated.
"We must be united to make it, and we will do it," he added.
Zelensky is expected to visit US President Joe Biden at the White House later this week. He also plans to meet with members of Congress and military leaders, according to reports.
US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Biden was "looking forward to hearing from President Zelensky about their counteroffensive and about the progress they’re making, sort of his assessment of what the battlefield looks like," according to a report by Ukrinform.
The US administration is preparing a new military aid package for Ukraine to coincide with Zelensky's visit, according to the Reuters news agency.
Biden appealed to world leaders at the United Nations on Tuesday to stand with Ukraine against invading Russian forces, declaring that Washington strongly supports Kyiv's fight for freedom and efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda told the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday that Russian aggression in Ukraine "must end, and not be converted into a frozen war."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
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Source: CNN, ukrinform.net, president.gov.ua