Zelenskyy questions China’s ‘true interest’ behind plan to end Russia’s war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to the podium at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for the third time since Russia’s deadly invasion began more than two and half years ago, though this time he took direct aim at nations aiding Moscow: China, North Korea and Iran. 

Zelenskyy – who has long toed the line when it comes to maintaining murky geopolitical relations amid the war – for the first time called out not only the nations supplying direct arms to Moscow, but those who have remained complacent in their refusal to back Ukraine’s demands that Russian President Vladimir Putin withdraw his troops. 

“We need to make it clear the war is over. This is the peace formula – what part of this could be unacceptable to anyone who upholds the U.N. Charter?” he questioned. “If someone in the world seeks alternatives…it likely means they themselves want to do a part of what Putin is doing. [It] reveals the desire they are hiding.” 

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“And when the Chinese-Brazilian duo tries to grow into a choir of voices with someone in Europe, with someone in Africa, saying something alternative to a full and just peace, the question arises – what is the true interest?”

Zelenskyy’s comments referred to a monthslong attempt by China to enlist the backing of other nations for a six-point peace plan it introduced in coordination with Brazil in May, rather than backing the 10-point plan Ukraine first introduced in 2022.

China’s plan has not been embraced by Western nations as it not only lacked concrete steps to actually end the war, but it did not explicitly call for Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine. 

Chinese representatives have not addressed the U.N. body, though Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday said he encouraged the joint plan.

In a similarly assertive tone, Zelenskyy called out Iran and North Korea for providing direct military aid to Russia – a step he has not taken before at the international meeting despite Tehran having provided Moscow’s war chest with drones for over two years. 

Firefighters help a local woman evacuate from a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles Shahed-136, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on  Oct. 17, 2022. (REUTERS/Vladyslav Musiienko)

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One topic the Ukrainian leader has regularly touched on, and once again drew attention to, is the threat Russia poses to nuclear security. 

Zelenskyy in years past has reminded the UNGA that nuclear security is not only a concern for Ukraine, and on Wednesday, he warned that “radiation will not respect state borders.”

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy sector in a move to cut the nation from its power sources, especially during the winter months.

“Russia has destroyed all our thermal power plants and a large part of our hydroelectric capacity. This is how Putin is preparing for winter, hoping to torment millions, millions of Ukrainians,” he said. 

A screen grab from a video released by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shows a fire that broke out in Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Aug. 11, 2024. (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Zelenskyy said that now, not only is Putin looking to employ the same strategy as winter looms, but he is also planning to target nuclear power plants in a move to disconnect the plants from the power grid – a tactic he is allegedly employing by relying on satellite images supplied by other nations, though Zelenskyy did not specify which ones. 

“Since Russia can’t defeat our people’s resistance on the battlefield, Putin is looking for other ways to break the Ukrainian spirit,” Zelenskyy warned.