Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to New York to deal with the United Nations Common Meeting in particular person for the primary time since Moscow started its full-scale invasion of his nation in February 2022.
Wearing his trademark khaki inexperienced shirt, he urged member states to return collectively to oppose Russian aggression and harassed the necessity for a peace recognising Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Right here is the total textual content of Zelenskyy’s speech from September 19.
I welcome all who stand for frequent efforts! And I promise – being actually united we are able to assure truthful peace for all nations. What’s extra, unity can forestall wars.
Girls and gents, Mr Secretary Common! Fellow leaders!
This corridor noticed many wars however not as energetic defender towards the aggressions. In lots of instances, the worry of warfare, the ultimate warfare, was the loudest right here – the warfare after which nobody would collect within the Common Meeting Corridor once more.
The Third World Battle was seen as a nuclear warfare. A battle between states on the freeway to nukes. Different wars appeared much less scary in comparison with a menace of the so-called “nice powers” firing their nuclear stockpiles.
So, the twentieth century taught the world to restrain from using the weapons of mass destruction – to not deploy, to not proliferate, to not threaten with, and to not check, however to advertise a whole nuclear disarmament.
Frankly, this can be a good technique.
Nevertheless it shouldn’t be the one technique to guard the world from this ultimate warfare.
Ukraine gave up its third-largest nuclear arsenal. The world then determined Russia ought to turn into a keeper of such energy. But, historical past reveals it was Russia who deserved nuclear disarmament essentially the most, again in Nineties. And Russia deserves it now – terrorists haven’t any proper to carry nuclear weapons.
However really not the nukes are the scariest now.
Whereas nukes stay in place, the mass destruction is gaining its momentum. The aggressor is weaponising many different issues and people issues are used not solely towards our nation however towards all of yours as nicely.
Fellow leaders!
There are various conventions that prohibit weapons however there are not any actual restrictions on weaponisation.
First, let me offer you an instance – the meals.
Because the begin of the full-scale warfare, the Ukrainian ports within the Black and Azov Seas have been blocked by Russia. Till now, our ports on the Danube River stay the goal for missiles and drones. And it’s a clear Russia’s try and weaponise the meals scarcity on the worldwide market in trade for recognition for some, if not all, of the captured territories.
Russia is launching the meals costs as weapons. The impression spans from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the Southeast Asia. That is the menace scale.
I wish to thank these leaders who supported our Black Sea Grain Initiative, and program “Grain from Ukraine”. United, we made weapons flip again into meals once more. Greater than 45 nations noticed how necessary it’s to make Ukrainian meals merchandise obtainable in the marketplace… from Algeria and Spain to Indonesia and China.
Even now when Russia has undermined the Black Sea Grain Initiative, we’re working to make sure meals stability. And I hope that a lot of you’ll be a part of us in these efforts.
We launched a short lived sea export hall from our ports. And we’re working arduous to protect the land routes for grain exports. And it’s alarming to see how some in Europe play out solidarity in a political theatre – making thriller from the grain. They might appear to play their very own function however in truth, they’re serving to set the stage to a Moscow actor.
Second, weaponisation of vitality.
Many occasions, the world has witnessed Russia utilizing vitality as a weapon. Kremlin weaponised oil and gasoline to weaken the leaders of different nations.
Now the menace is even better.
Russia is weaponising nuclear vitality. Not solely it’s spreading its unreliable nuclear-power-plant-construction-technologies, however it is usually turning different nations’ energy vegetation into actual soiled bombs.
Look what Russia did to our Zaporizhzhia energy plant – shelled it, occupied it and now blackmails others with radiation leaks.
Is there any sense to scale back nuclear weapons when Russia is weaponising nuclear energy vegetation? Scary query.
The worldwide safety structure affords no response or safety towards such a treacherous radiation menace… And there’s no accountability for radiation blackmailers thus far.
The third instance is youngsters.
Sadly, varied terrorist teams abduct youngsters to place strain on their households and societies. However by no means earlier than the mass kidnapping and deportation would turn into part of the federal government coverage. Not till now.
We all know the names of tens of hundreds of youngsters and have proof on a whole bunch of hundreds of others kidnapped by Russia within the occupied territories of Ukraine and later deported. The Worldwide Prison Court docket issued arrest warrant for Putin for this crime.
We are attempting to get youngsters again house however time goes by. What’s going to occur to them? These youngsters in Russia are taught to hate Ukraine, and all ties with their households are damaged… That is clearly a genocide.
When hatred is weaponised towards one nation, it by no means stops there.
Every decade Russia begins a brand new warfare. Components of Moldova and Georgia stay occupied. Russia turned Syria into ruins. And if not Russia, the chemical weapons would have by no means been used there in Syria. Russia has nearly swallowed Belarus. It’s clearly threatening Kazakhstan and the Baltic states… And the purpose of the current warfare towards Ukraine is to show our land, our folks, our sources right into a weapon towards you – towards the worldwide rules-based order.
Many seats within the Common Meeting Corridor might turn into empty if Russia succeeds with its treachery and aggression.
Girls and gents!
The aggressor scatters dying and brings ruins even with out nukes however the outcomes are alike.
We see cities and villages in Ukraine worn out by Russian artillery. Levelled to the bottom utterly! We see the warfare of drones.
We all know the doable results of spreading the warfare into the our on-line world. The factitious intelligence might be educated to fight nicely – earlier than it could study to assist the humanity. Thank God, folks haven’t but discovered to make use of local weather as a weapon. Regardless that humanity is failing on its local weather coverage targets – because of this excessive climate will nonetheless impression the conventional international life and a few evil state will even weaponise its outcomes.
And when folks within the streets of New York and different cities of the world went out on local weather protest – all of us have seen them… And when folks in Morocco and Libya and different nations die on account of pure disasters… And when islands and nations disappear underneath water… And when tornados and deserts are spreading into new territories… And when all of that is taking place, one unnatural catastrophe in Moscow determined to launch an enormous warfare and kill tens of hundreds of individuals.
We should act united – to defeat the aggressor and focus all our capabilities and vitality on addressing these challenges.
As nukes are restrained, likewise the aggressor should be restrained and all its instruments and strategies of warfare. Every warfare now can turn into ultimate, however it takes our unity to be sure that aggression will NOT break in once more.
And it’s not a dialogue between the so-called “nice powers” someplace behind the closed doorways that may assure us all the brand new no-wars-era, however open work of all nations for peace.
Final yr, I introduced the outlines of the Ukrainian peace formulation on the UN Common Meeting. Later in Indonesia, I introduced the total Components. And over the previous yr, the Peace Components turned the premise to replace the prevailing safety structure – now we are able to convey again to life the UN Constitution and assure the total energy of the rules-based world order.
Tomorrow, I’ll current the main points at a particular assembly of the UN Safety Council.
The principle factor is that it’s not solely about Ukraine. Greater than 140 states and worldwide organisations have supported the Ukrainian Peace Components absolutely or partially. The Ukrainian Peace Components is changing into international. Its factors supply options and steps that can cease all types of weaponisation that Russia used towards Ukraine and different nations and could also be utilized by different aggressors.
Look – for the primary time in fashionable historical past, we now have the possibility to finish the aggression on the phrases of the nation which was attacked. This can be a actual likelihood for each nation – to make sure that aggression towards your state, if it occurs, God forbid, will finish not as a result of your land might be divided and you’ll be pressured to undergo navy or political strain, however as a result of your territory and sovereignty might be absolutely restored.
We launched the format of conferences between nationwide safety advisers and diplomatic representatives. Essential talks and consultations have been held in Hiroshima, in Copenhagen, and in Jeddah on the implementation of the Peace Components. And we’re making ready a World Peace Summit. I invite all of you – all of you who don’t tolerate any aggression – to collectively put together the Summit.
I’m conscious of the makes an attempt to make some shady dealings behind the scenes. Evil can’t be trusted – ask Prigozhin [the former head of the mercenary Wagner group] if one bets on Putin’s guarantees.
Please, hear me.
Let unity resolve every part brazenly.
Whereas Russia is pushing the world to the ultimate warfare, Ukraine is doing every part to make sure that after Russian aggression, nobody on the earth will dare to assault any nation. Weaponisation should be restrained. Battle crimes should be punished. Deported folks should come again house. And the occupier should return to their very own land.
We should be united to make it.
Слава Україні! [Translation: Glory to Ukraine!]
