‘Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead,’ leader tells UN General Assembly
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged world powers to help stop Russia’s war in his country in a speech to the United Nations yesterday, warning of a dangerous arms race that he said the fighting was helping unleash.
He called for global rules to curb the use of artificial intelligence in weapons while describing breakneck innovation in the military use of drones.
He also accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of seeking to expand his war beyond Ukraine.
“Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the first to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead,” he told the 193-member United Nations General Assembly.
His comments came a day after he met US president Donald Trump at the United Nations, where Mr Trump appeared to take a much tougher stance toward the Kremlin.
Mr Trump said on Tuesday that Kyiv could retake all its occupied land from Russia in what would be an extraordinary battlefield reversal. He also endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian fighter jets that violate Nato airspace.
Mr Zelensky said the advent of artificial intelligence meant the arms race under way was the “most destructive” in human history and voiced disappointment in what he said was the weakness of international law and co-operation.
Ukraine has been locked in fighting against Russian forces for more than three and a half years since their full-scale invasion triggered the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
The Kremlin yesterday flatly rejected what Mr Trump said was the economic rationale behind his rhetorical U-turn, saying it appeared that the US president had been influenced by Ukraine’s leader and was mistaken.
As far as we understand, President Trump’s statements were made after communicating with Zelensky and, apparently, under the influence of a vision set out by Zelensk
The Trump flip-flop was seen by some Russian nationalists as a sign he was washing his hands of the war in Ukraine after his unsuccessful attempts to broker a quick peace deal, noting he had not promised any more US help to Kyiv but had rather placed the onus on Ukraine and the European Union.
The Kremlin, which says it is keen for better ties with Washington, countered that the Russian economy was stable, despite some problems caused by Western sanctions, and that Russian forces’ slow but steady advance in Ukraine was part of a deliberate strategy, with Kyiv, not Moscow, on the back foot.
“As far as we understand, President Trump’s statements were made after communicating with Zelensky and, apparently, under the influence of a vision set out by Zelensky. This vision contrasts sharply with our understanding of the current state of affairs,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The fact that Ukraine is being encouraged in every possible way to continue hostilities and the argument that Ukraine can win something back is, in our view, a mistaken argument... The dynamics on the front lines speak for themselves,” he said.
Mr Peskov said Russia’s macroeconomic situation was stable, though data released by the Russian economy ministry yesterday showed that the GDP growth forecast for this year had been cut to 1pc from 2.5pc.
Mr Trump’s description of Russia as a “paper tiger” was rejected by the Kremlin. Russia was more associated with a bear than a tiger, Mr Peskov told the RBC radio, and paper bears didn’t exist.
[SRC] https://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/stop-russia-or-face-most-destructive-arms-race-ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-tells-united-nations/a1694581602.html
