Russia’s deportation of “tens of thousands” of Ukrainian children is “clearly a genocide,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused at the UN on Tuesday, also denouncing the use of energy and food as weapons.
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“We know the names of tens of thousands of children and we have evidence of hundreds of thousands more kidnapped by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and then deported,” he denounced.
“We are trying to get these children home, but time is running out. What will happen to them? In Russia, they are taught to hate Ukraine and all ties with their families are cut. It is clearly a genocide,” denounced the president, under the gaze of Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitri Polyanskiy, present at the Russian table.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin for the “illegal deportation” of thousands of Ukrainian children since February 2022. Accusations rejected by Moscow.
In a speech that was applauded several times, the president also criticized the fact that Russia possesses a nuclear arsenal.
“Terrorists have no right to possess nuclear weapons,” he insisted.
“Russia is using the price of food (…) and nuclear energy as a weapon,” he also accused.
Finally, he reiterated his call for the organization of a “world summit for peace.”
“I invite you all – all those who do not tolerate any aggression – to jointly prepare this summit,” he insisted.
Ukraine began a dialogue on its president’s 10-point peace plan by holding meetings in June and August in Copenhagen and then in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, attended by representatives from dozens of countries.
