Zelenskyy tells UN Russia must be forced into peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday (24 September) that the war between Russia and Ukraine cannot be calmed by talks alone, but that Moscow must be forced into peace.

Zelenskyy has sought the support of Western leaders for what he calls a "victory plan" to end the war that began when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of his country in February 2022.

Zelenskyy said the war would end one day but not because "someone got tired of the war" or through a trade with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a reference to proposals that Ukraine cede some territory seized by Russia to settle the conflict.

"This war can't be calmed by talks. Action is needed," Zelenskyy said, thanking nations who have provided Ukraine support.

"Putin has broken so many international norms and rules that he won't stop on his own, Russia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly what's needed, forcing Russia into peace, as the sole aggressor in this war, the sole violator of the UN Charter," Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy took aim at North Korea and Iran for providing arms to Russia for the war, calling them "de facto accomplices" of Moscow.

Ukraine faces an uncertain future. A victory by former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 5 November US election could prompt a reset of Washington's policy on Ukraine, which relies heavily on US military and financial support. Opinion polls show a tight US race.

More than 2-1/2 years since the invasion, Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory and has been advancing in the east.

Zelenskyy has said that if his plan is backed by the West, it will have a broad impact on Moscow, including a psychological one that could help compel Putin to end the war diplomatically.

Zelenskyy has said very little so far about his victory plan except that it would act as a bridge to a second Ukraine-led summit on peace that Kyiv wants to hold and invite Russia to later this year.

Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia spoke up at the meeting to reject the 15-member council's hosting of Zelenskyy.

"Western countries could not refrain from poisoning the atmosphere once again, trying to fill the air time with the hackneyed Ukrainian issue," Nebenzia said of the meeting.

The top diplomats of China and the United States also clashed in the meeting.

"North Korea and Iran are not the only ones aiding and abetting Russia," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council. "China - another permanent member of this council - is the top provider of machine tools, microelectronics and other items that Russia is using to rebuild, to restock, to ramp up its war machine and sustain its brutal aggression."

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi rejected US accusations that Beijing's support for Russia was allowing it to continue its war in Ukraine.

"I wish to make it clear that on the Ukraine issue, any move to shift responsibility onto China, or attack and smear China, is irresponsible and will lead nowhere," he told the council.

Lavrov lambasts UN over Kursk incursion

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the UN was turning a blind eye to excesses committed by Ukrainian forces in their incursion into Russia's Kursk region, launched last month.

Lavrov, in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York that was published early on Wednesday, said Ukrainian "terrorist groups" were using Western weapons to commit indiscriminate acts in Kursk.

"It is there that they bomb homes every day, bomb social institutions, peaceful citizens moving in their cars to safer places," he told the news agency.

"I have not heard any voices from UN representatives responsible for human rights, including, of course, the secretary general," he added, referring to UN Secretary Antonio Guterres.

Ukrainian forces poured over the border into Kursk region in early August, with officials saying they captured large chunks of territory and some 100 settlements.

The Russian military has said in recent weeks that it has recaptured some of those towns and villages. Russia, which earlier said it was willing to hold talks with Ukraine if Kyiv withdrew its forces from four regions annexed by Russia, now says there can be no talks while troops remain in Kursk.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)