New York, Sept 23. (dpa/GNA) – Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday called on the international community to contain Russia, warning that Moscow poses a threat far beyond Ukraine.
Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Zelensky described the toll of more than four and a half years of Russia’s full-scale war against his country, but warned that the threat posed by Moscow under President Vladimir Putin extended further.
Russia also threatens Moldova, Poland and the Baltic countries, Zelensky said. Moscow does not respect the independence of countries in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, while Syria and countries in Africa have suffered from Russian brutality, he said.
North Korea, meanwhile, has advanced its military technology through cooperation with Russia, and is becoming a greater threat to its Asian neighbours, Zelensky said.
He described Putin as “patient zero” from whom the idea of war was spreading around the world. “He is patient zero, the one from whom this idea of war keeps spreading further. And wherever it spreads, it brings only pain, instability, new risks and, of course, new crises,” Zelensky said. “The more freedom Putin has to act, the more dangerous the world becomes for everyone else. That is why patient zero must be stopped. He must be denied the space to act and the space to spread this evil.”
Zelensky said Ukraine remained dependent on international assistance, and was in urgent need of additional air defence weapons.
At the same time, he highlighted Ukraine’s advances in drone technology, which Kiev is now sharing with its partners.
“This is not simply about selling drones. It is about cooperating with other countries to create a modern, integrated defence system against drone threats in the air, at sea and on land,” Zelensky said.
Despite the war, Ukraine is becoming a provider of security, Zelensky said.
GNA