Zelensky Says Ready for Black Sea Ceasefire, Urges Russia to Respond

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (local time), called Russian President Vladimir Putin 'patient zero' — meaning the original source of a spreading disease — and urged UN member states to join in pressuring Russia. 'The more freedom Putin is given to act, the more dangerous the world becomes,' he stressed, adding that 'we must block the space in which he spreads evil.' He also claimed, 'Russia has designs on its neighbor Moldova and constantly threatens Poland and the three Baltic states.'

He noted that Russian military casualties from January through August this year reached 248,000, while the territory gained in Ukraine amounted to only 1,000 square kilometers. 'But they keep going there and dying, and Putin wants that,' he said. Regarding Russia's claims of occupying the Donetsk region, he pointed out, 'They have made such promises 17, 18 times over five years,' noting that false claims had been repeated.

Zelensky laid out the rationale for Ukraine's concentrated long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities. 'Oil itself is not Ukraine's target,' he explained. 'The target is Russia's ability to drag out the war and make it more brutal and destructive.' He added, 'If Russia has money, they will always say no to diplomacy.'

To the international community, he appealed for air defense support such as Patriot systems, as well as participation in 'Freya,' Europe's independent missile defense initiative. 'We know this winter could be very harsh,' he warned, 'and Russia will have no choice but to make it painful as well.'

Meanwhile, at the earlier Crimea Platform Summit, Zelensky said, 'We are ready to accept a Black Sea ceasefire based on the proposals of Egypt, India, and Türkiye,' adding, 'Now it is Russia's turn to respond.' The Crimea Platform Summit is an international diplomatic and security cooperation body led by Ukraine in response to Russia's illegal occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. The ceasefire is understood to be aimed at halting mutual attacks on Black Sea ports.